Dreams Under the Stars
by GhostFairy
Summary: The most exciting time of the school year is fast approaching: prom season. Amid the chaos of promposals and dress hunting, something sinister lurks. Will everyone realize what is happening before it's too late and they lose out on the dance they've always dreamed of?
1. Chapter 1

Hikaru pushed her ice blue hair out of her eyes in mild frustration. Lunch was supposed to be the best part of the school day, yet today she found herself in the library on one of the computers looking up a few last minute details for her presentation next class.

She'd texted a few of her friends under her desk when the teacher wasn't looking last period, letting them know she wouldn't be at their usual lunch table. Hopefully, they'd gotten the hint and would be joining her shortly.

Right on cue, her friend Mei Mei slid into the empty seat next to her, looking cheerful. "Almost ready?"

"Hardly," Hikaru grumbled. In reality, she was just grateful she'd had the project nearly completed prior to the due date. If not, she would've been in serious trouble today. Yesterday, Hikaru had received an email from the teacher that her presentation had been moved up due to someone else being out sick. The last minute change was less than ideal, but at least she could make it work.

A gaggle of girls suddenly burst into the library, giggling over to the circulation desk. One girl picked up a mint green flyer off the desk and held it up for the other girls to see. The girls exploded into excited chatter, despite the librarian's request they quiet down.

Hikaru rolled her eyes in annoyance, staying focused on the matter at hand.

"What do you suppose that's about?" Mei Mei mused.

"Maybe this?" Sophie appeared behind Hikaru and Mei Mei. She placed a second mint green flyer identical to the one the other girl was holding on the keyboard in front of them. "I got it before the big rush." She motioned back to the clamoring girls.

School flyers were always placed on the library circulation desk before anywhere else around the building. To be in the know about what was happening, it was best to go to the desk and check on the upcoming events regularly.

This particular flyer had bold black print proclaiming its message across it. A clipart image had been pasted in the bottom. Someone had clearly had a little too much fun designing it, going wild on the document editor.

Hikaru scanned it quickly, her eyebrows knitting in confusion. "Prom?"

Mei Mei gasped as she looked over the flyer. "Oh my gosh! I completely forgot that was coming up!"

According the flyer, prom was barely two months away. Prom was specifically for juniors and seniors, but underclassman could go as well provided an upperclassman invited them. Ticket sales would be starting in a month. The theme had yet to be announced, but the message was clear. The shrieking of the girls across the room was suddenly justified, though still irritating.

Mei Mei looked at the flyer then back to Sophie. "Did you design this?"

"No," Sophie waved her hand. "I'd never make something that tacky. Besides, I decided against being on the planning committee this year. I want it to be a surprise. Plus, I don't want to spend most of my night running around fixing everything that goes wrong. This is my year to have fun!"

"I wonder what the theme will be," Mei Mei pondered, excitement now filling her voice.

"It's just a school dance," Hikaru shrugged. "What's the big deal?"

The squealing girls across the room had finally started to calm down. They filed out of the room, still whispering enthusiastically. A few seconds later, the library was almost completely silent once more, much to the relief of the librarian.

Sophie put her hands on her hips. "Just a school dance?" She huffed, shaking her head. "Hikaru, honestly sometimes I really don't understand you. Anyway, do you realize what this means?"

"Not particularly." Hikaru turned her attention back to the computer screen with the information for her upcoming class.

Sophie sighed. "Two months! Two months is all we have to make sure we have the perfect dress, the perfect date, everything! C'mon Mei Mei , let's go find Madoka. We have a lot of planning to do."

* * *

**Hello all! I hope you enjoyed that quick little snippet! I've noticed a slight resurgence of SYOC stories in the fandom lately, and it has me feeling seriously nostalgic for like, 2013. So I've thought it would be fun to add my own story! I always wanted to have my OC included in a prom fanfic, but sadly never had the opportunity, so I decided why not do it myself? The idea has been bugging me since I thought of it, so here it is! I'm not planning on this being particularly long, as I have other fics to attend to and I've noticed a big downfall back when OC stories were popular was the stories tended to go on quite a while and unfortunately were never finished. I'm hoping not to fall into that trap.**

**Ideally, I'd like to take 5 OCs max, assuming I can even get that many, so please only submit one character! Additionally, I'd prefer to keep my usual shippings in this story (HikaruxRyuga, SophiexWales, ChaoXinxMeiMei, GingkaxMadoka), but if you really want one of those characters, let me know and we can figure something out! The only other character taken is King, by my OC (but he's not a particularly popular character anyway hehe).**

**This is your chance to have a perfect prom! Live vicariously through your character! (Seriously that's what I'm doing, my senior prom was a nightmare that I'd prefer not to relive, thank you very much)**

**Please please please read the application form carefully before filling it out. If you have any questions, let me know. The more detail you can give me, the better. When you've finished, PM me the finished application! I look forward to hearing from everyone!**

**OC Application Form:**

**Name:**

**Age (High school age preferably):**

**Appearance:**

**Personality:**

**Normal Outfit:**

**Formal Outfit:**

**Crush (Are they friends? Do they know each other? Are they already together? If not, would you prefer they get together before or at the prom? Any preference for how they will be asked to prom if you would like them to get together prior to the event?):**

**Preferred Method of Arrival (Limo? Car? With friends or just with their crush?):**

**Skills (Martial arts? Stealthy? Computer genius? Anything goes!):**

**At the beginning of the story are they more likely be in a friend group with the other OCs, or main beyblade characters? Obviously this will change so that everyone is one big group, I just need to know so I can set up the beginning. Picking one or the other will not affect the outcome in any way:**

**Other Relevant Information:**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to Moonshine Orchids and rokebuto for submitting your OCs! I will do my best to do them justice in this story :)**

**At the moment, I am still willing to accept a few more OCs if anyone is interested! The current accepted pairings are StellaxKing, NinelxDashan, MarcosxLera, GinxKyoya, ZinaxChris, and AuroraxNile in addition to the pairings I listed last chapter. The application form can be found there; if you're interested, shoot me a PM. I'm also happy to answer any questions you may have.**

**I realize this chapter has quite a few page breaks, that should change as the story progresses. Chapters will also likely get a little longer as this one is a bit short. For those of you waiting on an update for _Starlight Academy_, I'm aiming to have that up by Saturday at the latest. Anyway, enjoy!**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade or any OCs, other than Stella.**

* * *

_Prom? _Ninel Morozova mouthed the word to herself as she examined the flyer taped to the wall near the exit of the school.

Ninel hadn't given prom much thought until the flyer was right in her face. Five minutes ago when the bell rang announcing the end of the school day, she was still thinking about class as she put her textbooks back in her locker. The minty green color of the paper was the only reason she'd been drawn to it in the first place.

Ninel's amber eyes looked the flyer up and down, committing the date and venue to memory. She wondered what the prom theme would end up being.

Ninel tightened the straps of her bag over her shoulder as she walked through the double doors out of the school, still thinking about the flyer. Ninel wondered whether she should go. She definitely wanted to talk with her friends about it when she got the chance. Maybe she would even go with someone.

Ninel blushed slightly at the thought. There was someone she would really like to go to prom with, but she wasn't so sure it would happen. She didn't want to get her hopes up just yet.

Ninel pushed the thought out of her head. She needed to get to the pool in time for swim practice. If she was going to improve her times, she had to be completely focused. Prom and the distractions that came with it could wait.

Two hours later, Ninel rinsed the chlorine off her skin in the showers before changing back into her street clothes: a sequined viridian green tank top and distressed midnight blue skinny jeans. She pulled on a black denim jacket and calf-length white leather boots. Ninel looked herself over in the mirror as she put a white leather belt around her waist and slipped her double chain choker around her neck, admiring the small dolphin pendant attached to it.

Now that practice was over, she needed to meet with Dashan at his house to work on homework. Ninel was grateful she'd brought her math book with her on a whim this morning, despite not having the class today. She'd spent a little extra time in the pool after most of the swim team had left in hopes of furthering her ability; there was no way she would be able to get to his house on time if she had to stop home first, even though she and Dashan lived on the same block.

Ninel ran a brush through her dark red-brown hair and was ready to go.

When she arrived, Dashan had already set up a study space for the two of them. They had been close since becoming friends in elementary school, and Ninel was always willing to assist Dashan with his homework when he needed it, particularly when it came to math or art.

Dashan greeted Ninel with a smile. "Thanks for coming over."

"Not a problem," Ninel returned his smile with one of her own. She put her bag down, digging out her math book and setting it on the table.

For half an hour, the two of them worked diligently. The unit they were currently focusing on wasn't particularly difficult. It didn't take long until they were nearly finished. Ninel found her mind wandering back to the mint green paper she'd seen earlier.

Ninel pushed her side bangs out of the way, pretending to be interested in the math problem they were going over. She pointed at it, using her finger to press down the page as she chose her words carefully.

"Dashan," she began. "Did you see the flyer that was posted at school today?"

"The one about prom?" Dashan asked, looking a bit surprised. "I did. There were a few girls talking about it during history. They seemed quite excitable."

"Yes," Ninel paused. "Do you think you'll go?"

"I'm not sure," Dashan admitted. "I haven't really thought about it."

Ninel nodded. "I need a little more time to think about it as well."

They fell silent as they resumed working on math. Ninel smiled faintly, letting her hair fall in front of her face so Dashan couldn't see her expression. He hadn't said he wasn't going. She still had a chance.

* * *

Seventeen-year old Stella Celatum giggled as she watched Masamune chase King down the hallway. She wasn't sure what King had done this time, but it obviously irritated the black-and-white haired blader enough to elicit a response.

She stopped at her locker, noting with disdain someone had already plastered a flyer to it. She ripped the paper off, crumpling it before tossing it in a nearby trashcan. Stella had already read over the information multiple times.

Ever since the flyer first appeared yesterday afternoon, the entire school had talked about nothing else. The flyer was impossible to miss and now that it had been seen by all, there was no going back. Prom was still well over a month away, and it already consumed everyone. The underclassmen hoped someone would ask them so they could go; the upperclassman worried about who they would ask.

Stella knew for certain she would be going, although she wasn't too sure if she'd be going with anyone. The thought made her nervous, but at the very least she was confident a few of her friends would be going. Even if she didn't get a date, she was still guaranteed to have a good time.

At least ten minutes separated her from the start of class. Stella examined her brown-black hair in the mirror she'd stuck on the inside of her locker, fixing her lime green side bangs and straightening out the ends of her tresses, also lime green. As with every day, her bright green eyes were rimmed with thick black eyeliner and she was wearing a hoop nose ring along with her black studded dog collar, matching studded bracelet, ankh necklace, and silver eye of Horus bracelet.

King suddenly appeared at her locker, breathing heavily.

"Did you finally ditch Masamune?" Stella asked absently, taking out her chemistry textbook, not looking at him as she did so.

"I think," King panted. Stella shook her head.

"Ha!" Masamune shouted right behind them, causing King to yelp. "You can't get rid of me that easily." A strange look suddenly crossed his face.

"What's wrong?" Stella asked hesitantly, not sure she really wanted to know.

"I can't remember why I was chasing him," Masamune answered, looking sheepish.

Stella resisted the urge to face-palm. Hopefully King was smart and wouldn't instigate Masamune any further, but she wasn't going to count on that. She took a cautionary step away from the two as she shut her locker.

"Hey! Prom!" Masamune was suddenly distracted by yet another flyer taped on the wall across from them. King followed him.

While those two were distracted, Stella noticed Marcos Kategawa outside a locked classroom. Standing over six feet tall, he was hard to miss in the crowd of students. Marcos observed the students passing him with what appeared to be a smirk on his round face as he adjusted his glasses. His lank black hair covered part of the left side of his face. He wore a hooded jacket, black trousers, and black gloves.

Stella sidled over to him, glad for an excuse to escape King and Masamune. Being around the two of them for any extended period of time could be overwhelming.

"Having fun?" Stella asked, amused.

"Hardly," Marcos scoffed, narrowing his small dark brown eyes. "This is nothing more than a waste of my time."

"You're just saying that because you're always one step ahead of the rest of us," Stella laughed lightly. "Do you think you'll go to prom this year?"

"And miss out on the most important day of my life ever? I wouldn't dare," Marcos said sarcastically, mimicking a group of girls walking by.

Stella shrugged. "I guess that's one way of looking at it."

His tone changed, slightly more serious. "I probably will go, though. There's no telling what could happen. I'd rather not miss out on something this big. It might be worth my time after all."

Stella smiled deviously. "Think you'll go with anyone?"

Marcos paid her little attention as he continued to survey the parade of students. "That's for me to know."

At that moment, the bell rang, signaling the start of classes once more.

Stella bounded off, leaving Marcos alone outside the classroom. Several more students crowded around him, waiting for the teacher to come and unlock the room. He watched them with mild irritation.

As far as Marcos was concerned, the other students were of no use to him, especially as they babbled incessantly about prom. Still, he had told Stella the truth: there was a good chance that he too would be attending. Prom was not going to be the fairytale night everyone dreamed of; life was never that easy. He wanted to be there in case something of great importance happened. If nothing did, it still gave him the chance to strategize how he would go about with his preparations and provide him a more educated view of the social hierarchy that dominated the school. That information in itself would be priceless.

"Hi, Marcos," said one of the girls next to him.

"Good morning," Marcos smiled pleasantly. It wasn't often he let people see his more calculating nature. He much preferred to present himself through a self-assured, enigmatic persona. It allowed him to gain a better understanding of those around him, and how useful of an acquaintance they would make.

The teacher finally arrived. As Marcos entered the classroom, he pondered what his next step would be for the upcoming occasion.

* * *

Madoka was walking into the computer lab, just as Sophie suspected she would be. Sophie had study hall this period, and planned to make the most of the free block. An idea was forming in her mind, and she wanted to spring it on Madoka before anyone else to gauge her reaction.

"What are you doing here?" Madoka blinked in surprise, nearly dropping the books she held.

"I don't have any homework," Sophie shrugged. "There's no point sitting around doing nothing. Anyway, I knew you'd be here. We need to talk about prom."

Madoka sat down at one of the computers. She took out a few notebooks and opened them up before logging into the computer. "I'm kind of busy at the moment. Can it wait?" She opened her documents folder, digging through it for the file she was searching for.

Sophie sat down in the empty chair next to her. She playfully rolled her chair into Madoka's, pushing the other girl away from the screen. Madoka protested, but gave in almost immediately. Sophie opened the Internet and typed in a website.

"Sophie," Madoka said in an exasperated voice. "Prom was announced _yesterday_. I think it's a little early to start looking at dresses."

"Hardly," Sophie fluffed out her long light blue hair so it didn't get stuck between her back and the chair. "We barely have enough time as it is. What if the dresses need alterations? Seamstresses are going to be crazy busy soon. Plus, if we wait too long, some of the best dresses might already be taken. We need to get on this as soon as possible."

Madoka sighed. She took the mouse from Sophie and started scrolling down the website. She paused on a short red dress.

"No way," Sophie shook her head vehemently. "You can do so much better than that. Prom is your one chance to go all out. Well, other than your wedding, I guess." She took the mouse back from Madoka.

The two of them scanned the website, giving each other opinions, approving and rejecting the possibilities.

"I really wish Hikaru was here right now," Sophie said suddenly.

Madoka looked at her inquisitively. "Do you really think she'll go?"

"I hope so, but I don't know for sure," Sophie confessed. "If all of us go, I'm sure she won't want to be left out. I was hoping going dress shopping might get her excited about it the way the rest of us are."

Madoka nodded. "Okay. We'll make plans to go shopping the next time we have a free weekend." She glanced over at the clock. "But I really have a few things I need to get done for class now. Do you mind?"

Sophie laughed. "I should probably get back to study hall, too."

With that, she picked up her things and left the classroom. Once Madoka was positive Sophie was gone, she reopened the prom dress website and peeked at a few more dresses before finally returning to her schoolwork.

* * *

Mei Mei turned around to see Ninel sitting in the desk behind her. Ninel was busy writing in a notebook, but she glanced up when Mei Mei softly called her name.

"Are you going to prom?" She whispered while the teacher was distracted writing on the board.

"I think so," Ninel confided. "I've been thinking about it a lot this week. A few of my swim team friends are going, too."

Mei Mei nodded. "Sophie is going for sure. She's still trying to convince Hikaru, but I think Madoka is also going. We're planning on going dress shopping downtown soon. Would you want to go with us?"

"That sounds great," Ninel responded. Sophie was part of another group Ninel was friends with, along with Wales, Julian, and Klaus. The two knew each other well and could frequently be seen hanging out together. "I'm busy the next two weekends with practice, but after that I should be free. Thanks for the invite."

Mei Mei gave her a quick smile before turning back to face the front of the classroom before their instructor noticed them talking. The teacher was now giving directions on an upcoming assignment.

Now certain she was going to prom, Ninel wondered what kind of dress she would wear. Long? Short? There were bound to be hundreds of styles to pick from. She had to pick one in a color she liked, too.

With prom inching ever closer, there was still quite a bit to be done.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, all! At this point I have all the OCs I need; thank you very much to Moonshine Orchids, rokebuto, GinMado, SailorCandy, and Nightlingale for submitting characters! I'm glad you like the way I'm portraying Marcos, rokebuto. I have never written for a character with his personality before, but I am always up for trying something new. It's also come to my attention there may be an issue with PMs... If anyone thinks they sent me a completed OC form, but I didn't receive it, please let me know sooner rather than later. I'm not planning on this being particularly long and I am fast running out of time to incorporate characters into the story. Other than that, OC submissions are officially closed!**

**Today is my birthday-this is my present to all of you! Thanks for reading :)**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

Gin stood on her toes as she tried to peer above the throng of students as tall as her black boots would allow her to go. At five-foot-five, she wasn't short, but that didn't make it any easier to gaze over everyone's head as she tried to remember which direction she was supposed to go next. She had only been at the school for a few weeks, but navigating the halls of the large school tended to be tricky from time to time regardless.

Finally, she located an opening in the crowd and squeezed through it. This school was so much bigger than her last.

A few minutes later, she made it to the cafeteria. Gin hopped into the lunch line, grabbed her food, and looked around.

She bit the inside of her cheek. Despite having been around for a little while, Gin still felt like it was her first week at school all over again. She'd met a few nice people, but her arrival had been overshadowed by an unfortunate sheet of green paper that had captivated everyone about the same time she showed up. Everyone was so obsessed, it was hard to find people she really connected with. A few times Gin had spent her lunch period in the library, but today she had no homework and couldn't justify sitting alone at a computer with nothing to do the entire time.

Up until now, Gin typically sat at a lunch table with a girl from her writing class. She'd been friendly, but Gin felt the two of them really didn't have anything in common. Both she and the other girl knew it, too. Gin didn't even see the girl at her usual lunch table today.

That was fine with her. It was about time she got around to making new friends anyway.

Gin quickly scanned the room. She saw a few people she recognized, but no one she was familiar enough with to join at their table until-

Kyoya Tategami. Gin had been drawn to him almost instantly the moment she arrived at school. He was more than a little cute with his wild green hair and bright blue eyes, not to mention the two matching scars he had right below them. What was even better was that he had been assigned to be Gin's partner for science class.

Gin pushed her waist-length straight black hair behind her ears. She and Kyoya were lab partners. She could definitely go over and sit next to him without it being weird.

As she approached the table, Gin took inventory of the others sitting with him. There was a guy with fiery orange hair and a bandana- that was Gingka. She'd heard of him before. Next to him, she recognized a girl named Madoka from her history class. She couldn't place the last member at their table, a boy with spiky black hair rimmed with white.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Gin asked, mostly focused on Kyoya. He nodded, gesturing for her to sit down. Madoka gave her a warm smile. Gingka and the other boy looked at her curiously as Gin placed her tray on the table. "Hey."

"This is my lab partner, Gin," Kyoya introduced. "She moved here a few weeks ago."

"I'm Masamune Kadoya," the dark haired boy blurted out enthusiastically. "I'm the world's number one blader!"

Gin resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Somehow, she doubted that was true.

Thin annoyance covered Kyoya's face. "Masamune doesn't always sit with us, but today is an exception."

"Hey!" Masamune said indignantly. "It's not my fault Zeo and Toby are working on a group project without me!"

"Where's your girlfriend?" Gingka asked, interrupting Masamune's objections as he turned his attention to Kyoya.

"At the library. I think she said she had homework," Kyoya shrugged.

Gin tried not to look dismayed, keeping an upbeat, interested expression on her face. She'd picked up on rumors that Kyoya had a girlfriend, but she hadn't heard him confirm them until now.

"Are you going to prom?" Gin turned to see Madoka speaking to her.

"Probably," Gin confirmed. "It sounds like it'll be a lot of fun."

"Definitely!" Madoka concurred. "I'm going shopping at the end of the week to look at dresses with my friends. Would you be interested in joining us?"

Gin couldn't hide the smile that broke out across her face. This was perfect. Finally, she had a real opportunity to meet new people. Madoka seemed nice; her friends were likely to be the same. Plus, dress shopping was bound to be a lot of fun, and definitely a good time for bonding. Not to mention, Madoka was in the same social circle as Kyoya. Gin got the feeling she was going to be seeing a lot more of him now.

"Sure!" Gin responded. The weekend couldn't come fast enough.

A few tables over, Zina Adams sat down between Mei Mei and Dashan, sweeping the scene with her intimidating brown eyes as she took out her lunch.

"Hey, Zina," Chao Xin greeted her. Mei Mei gave her a meaningful look.

Earlier in the week, Mei Mei had confided in Zina that she liked Chao Xin and was hoping to go to prom with him. Chao Xin had a notorious reputation for being a womanizer, but for the most he harmlessly flirted with the girls that constantly followed him around, basking in their attention. It was never anything serious, as far as they knew.

Zina had been concerned at first, but she knew Chao Xin pretty well, and was confident if he and Mei Mei got together it wouldn't end badly. Chao Xin would never intentionally hurt Mei Mei, and besides, they were all friends. If the relationship ended on bad terms, it could complicate some of those friendships, and nobody wanted that. Now she and Mei Mei needed to find out if Chao Xin liked her back when the opportunity presented itself.

While the others were busy talking, Zina wondered about her own plans for prom. Mei Mei had informed her she was going shopping at the end of the week with a group of girls to look at dresses, and Zina was more than welcome to come. She was definitely going to take her up on that offer.

Of course, the dress wasn't the biggest of her concerns at the moment. Like Mei Mei, Zina was more interested in _who_she'd be going with.

Prom was still over a month away, but Zina wanted to have most plans set in motion sooner rather than later. There were bound to be a few surprises that cropped up as the date drew closer.

"Earth to Zina, hello? You there?"

Zina snapped out of her thoughts. "My bad," she said airily. "Just thinking about prom again."

"Of course," Dashan commented. "That's the only thing on everyone's mind these days."

Chao Xin rolled his eyes. "I'm all for a good time, but it's getting to be a bit too much. I've had six girls ask me already.

"Well, you're not popular, are you?" Zina responded sarcastically. She and Mei Mei exchanged a glance. They should have realized Mei Mei wasn't going to be the only girl seeking Chao Xin as her date.

"Did you say yes to any of them?" Mei Mei asked quickly, fiddling with her fork. Zina picked up on the nervous edge in her voice, but the others didn't seem to notice.

"Nah," Chao Xin said. "I'm keeping my options open." He didn't elaborate further.

When the bell rang, Mei Mei and Zina hung back while the boys left to reconvene. It seemed they had less time than they anticipated for Mei Mei to make sure she'd be going with Chao Xin.

Zina looked down at her own ripped skinny jeans and black t-shirt, giving herself a once over. She needed to get on the ball, too if she planned on going with anyone before it was too late.

Zina's attention was drawn to a flash of spiky blonde hair she glimpsed as its owner exited the cafeteria. She suddenly knew exactly whom she wanted to go to prom with.

* * *

Marcos was enjoying the quiet of the library when Stella and a few of her loud friends came walking up to his table.

He twitched. She was with Masamune and King. The two of them were notorious for arguing and running amok as they saw fit. Marcos closed his book and stood up, pushing the chair in. It was time to go.

"Oh don't be like that," Stella grinned. "Actually, I was just on my way out. It's these two you want to talk to."

"Somehow I doubt that," Marcos murmured under his breath. He raised his voice to a normal volume in a sociable tone. "What's up?"

Stella skipped away, leaving the three boys. Marcos led them out of the library, not wanting to cause a scene. He wouldn't have been surprised if King and Masamune were obnoxious enough to get them all kicked out.

"Stella said you're going to prom!" King said. "We are, too! Except we don't have anything to wear. Stella said we can't go to prom dressed like this."

Marcos raised an eyebrow, looking over the outfits the two wore. "No, you can't. There's going to be a dress code, obviously."

"So that's where you come in!" Masamune said excitedly.

"I'm not going shopping with you," Marcos interrupted before they could get too carried away. "I have my own plans."

"Awww," King whined.

"Please?" Masamune begged. "It won't be just us anyway! Gingka and Kyoya are coming, too!"

Marcos thought it over carefully. On one hand, there were times he could barely stand the two of them. Kyoya would be there, though, and he was a much more rational being. Admittedly, Marcos did need to figure out what he was going to wear. This at least gave him the opportunity to get what he needed well ahead of schedule.

"Fine," Marcos relented. "Keep me informed of the plans."

The two cheered. Marcos hastily walked away from the two before they could corner him any further. Ideally, a few others in addition to Kyoya would accompany them on their trip to buy what they needed who weren't as spontaneous, but he wasn't about to raise his hopes. Marcos simply hoped the whole process would go as painlessly as possible.

A sudden pressure on his left arm caught his attention, but it quickly disappeared. He would hardly have paid it attention, if not for the interjection that followed.

"Oh!"

Marcos turned to see a girl with bright pink hair in pigtails and turquoise eyes scrambling on the ground to pick up papers.

"I'm sorry for bumping into you! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," the girl explained, waving her papers around. She ran off, disappearing down the hall. "It won't happen again!"

Marcos watched her go. It took him a moment to figure out the girl was; he knew most of the students in the school. That had been Lera. He'd had an elective class with her last semester. Other than that, he wasn't very familiar with her.

As she vanished from sight, he looked on in amusement, wondering if he would be seeing her again anytime soon.

Back in the library, Aurora Evangeline Midnight straightened her strapless midnight blue and black gradient dress that grazed her knees, examining the crystal accents on the skirt and silver embellishments around her waist. The dress was reminiscent of the night sky. She touched the black tanzanite pendant shaped as an eight-point compass rose she wore around her neck, centering it. A matching anklet rested on her right ankle, just above her black kitten heels. Satisfied her readjusted outfit was up to her standards, she returned to the task at hand.

She looked at the bookshelf in front of her. Tentatively, she took a step forward, her eyes fast searching for the title she needed.

She stood on the tips of her toes, reaching for the book she'd located on a shelf that just barely eluded her grasp. She pursed her lips, pushing her slender five-foot-two frame to its limits. She wrapped her hand on the bottom of the hardbound cover and finally pulled the book down to her.

"I thought I'd find you here," an amused voice said behind her.

Aurora nearly cried out in surprise, quickly regaining her balance as she rested her heels back in her shoes. The voice belonged to none other than her best friend.

"Hello, Sophie," Aurora said in a soft voice. "How are you?"

"Good, but things are only going to get better!" Sophie's face broke out in a grin. Her tote bag swung wildly on her shoulder as she clasped her hands together. The bracelets on her arms jangled. "How do you feel about dress shopping this weekend?"

"That sounds wonderful," Aurora nodded. "Will anyone else be joining us?"

"Yes," Sophie confirmed. "Madoka, Hikaru, and Mei Mei will be there for sure. I think they've invited a few other people as well. I haven't formally met everyone yet, but they all go to school here, so we'll probably know who they are

"Oh." Aurora played with a strand of her long, flowing starlight silver hair that fell all the way to her knees. The thought of so many others being there, especially ones she likely didn't know, made her a little nervous with her social anxiety.

"It'll be fun," Sophie said, as though reading her mind. "You should come along."

"I will," Aurora decided. Sophie would be there. That would make the situation more manageable for her. She needed her best friend's opinion a dress anyway. Going by herself wouldn't be as much fun.

"I'll text you the details when I have them. I have to get back to class." Sophie began retreating. As she walked away, Sophie called, "Don't forget to check your phone this time!"

Aurora shook her head with a sweet smile, her amethyst eyes framed by long lashes shining brightly. She was forever forgetting to respond to messages.

* * *

Saturday, Ninel waited in the park downtown for the other girls to arrive. She was still five minutes early, but it surprised her that no one else had shown up.

As if on cue, Sophie suddenly appeared, her eyes sparkling.

"Wales just asked me to prom," Sophie announced breathlessly. She glowed as if lit from the inside. "He gave me flowers and everything! We're going on a date next Friday, too."

Ninel congratulated her friend. It was no shock Wales and Sophie were going together. The two were incredibly close, and it wasn't a secret that they liked each other. Honestly, if anything Ninel was shocked it had taken them this long to get together in the first place.

Sophie fluffed out her hair. "Where is everyone? Aren't they supposed to be here by now?"

"We're a few minutes early," Ninel reminded her.

A girl wearing a leopard print halter top that exposed the bottom of her midriff and studded leather miniskirt with laces on the sides came rushing up to them. Black over-the-knee heeled leather boots covered her legs. Ninel recognized her as Stella Celatum, one of the girls in her grade.

"Oh, good," the girl breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I was going to be late. Madoka invited me. I hope that's okay."

"Of course. The more, the merrier," Sophie beamed. Under her breath, she whispered to Ninel, "The more opinions on dresses, the better." Ninel had to stifle a laugh.

One by one, the rest of the girls began to arrive. Madoka and Hikaru arrived together, the second girl crossing her arms and looking apprehensive. Ninel remembered the conversation she had with Mei Mei in class two weeks back. Mei Mei had mentioned Hikaru didn't seem particularly interested in the idea of prom. Her being here though made Ninel think it was probable the icy blue-haired girl would be going with the rest of them.

The last girl to arrive wore a black shirt and black jeans. Ninel thought she looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place her.

"This is Gin," Madoka introduced. "She moved here a few weeks ago."

Once all introductions had been made, Sophie pushed to the head of the group and led the way. She crossed the street onto the sidewalks, staring up as she looked for the sign of the first store they were seeking.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to SailorCandy, GinMado, and Moonshine Orchids for your reviews; thanks for the birthday wishes as well! I'm so glad everyone is enjoying how this is going. A few things before the chapter starts: first, updates will be on a weekly/biweekly basis. Hope that's okay. I have three active stories right now and I failed to realize how time-consuming it would be.**

**Second, while all characters are in this chapter, after this I will only be featuring roughly 4-5 per chapter. So if your OC is not in the next chapter, don't worry, they'll more than likely be in the one following that. There are TEN pairings in this story, and I'd prefer to give each character their due time, rather than cramming everyone into one long chapter that comes across as forced and messy.**

**Lastly, to anyone who sent in an OC: if you have a preference for what your character's crush will be wearing to prom, please let me know. If you don't care, I'll come up with something and you don't have to worry about it :) That's all, guys! Enjoy, and I'll post again next week!**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

"Here it is!" she declared. In the window of the store, two mannequins were dressed in long sparkly pink dresses. Fluffy white mounds of cotton stuffing had been placed around them to imitate the appearance of clouds. Sophie pushed the door open, holding it for the other girls.

Immediately, they split off, looking at all the options available to them.

"Remember!" Madoka called out. "We still have a few more stores to check out! If you don't find what you're looking for here, there's bound to be something waiting for you in another store!"

Ninel took the words to heart as she followed after Mei Mei down an aisle filled with blue and purple dresses. The store was a little overwhelming, with dresses going from floor to ceiling in varying displays. Ninel was glad they had at least been separated by color; there were so many different styles it only marginally made it easier to see what was available for her to choose from.

"This is a little much," Mei Mei commented, also looking astounded by the volume of fabric around them. She pulled out a blue and purple tulle dress. "Not my size. Too bad."

Ninel wandered over to the dresses in her size. She picked out one blue one, then went to see the green dresses. Green was much more her color.

Stella was also looking over the green dresses. She held up a lime green one for Ninel to see. "Check it!" She said excitedly.

Zina jumped in front of them, holding a glittering silver dress covered in sparkles. "Do you see this?" She asked, rather hyper. Ninel laughed. Ninel and Zina had several friends in common. The two were well acquainted.

Stella's bright green eyes grew large. "Oh my god!" she squealed. "Show me exactly where you got that!" The two of them ran to the other side of the store, holding up the dresses they had already picked out.

Sophie was helping Aurora select dresses to try on. Sophie had already picked out a hot pink ruffled number for herself.

"I'm not sure," Aurora said in her quiet voice as she looked over the yellow dresses. "These are too much. I think I need something more toned down."

"Sophie!" Hikaru's voice rang out across the store. "You dragged me here; I need your help."

Sophie sighed. "I'll be back. I better go see what she needs." Sophie disappeared into the mass of dresses, leaving Aurora very much alone.

Aurora tightened her grip on the dress she held, feeling anxious. She looked around, hoping to find a familiar face.

"Hey." A girl with long black hair and dark brown eyes sidled up to her, smiling. Aurora recognized her as Gin, the new girl Madoka had introduced them to when they met up at the park. "Find anything good?"

Aurora looked at her timidly. She tried swallowing her nerves. "Not yet," she managed to get out. "I don't think this is the color I'm looking for."

"Cool," Gin nodded. "I'm going to check out the black dresses- they're so timeless. Wanna come with me?"

"O-okay," Aurora put on a brave face. Despite being shy, she was always attracting new people to her. Gin was nice. Maybe the two of them would be good friends. Just to be safe though, Aurora reminded herself she needed to be careful trusting new people so quickly.

As soon as they made it to the darker dresses, Aurora felt slightly more comfortable. The dresses in this section appealed to her. They reminded her of the dark gradient dress she wore. She tugged out one with silver crystals on it from the rack, checking the size tag.

Madoka had three dresses in her arms. She flagged down a salesgirl, and claimed one of the dressing rooms. Stella, who she knew through King, Masamune, and the other members of Team Dungeon, took the room next to her. Zina occupied the third stall. One by one the other girls joined them, ready to start their fashion parade.

Stella came out first, wearing a flashy neon purple halter dress with a full skirt that stopped just above her knees. She spun, allowing the other girls to watch the dress twirl with her.

"Cute," Ninel commented.

Sophie scrutinized it. "It seems a bit plain."

"Yeah," Stella agreed. "I can do better. Does anyone else want to try something on quick? So I'm not hogging the changing room."

Ninel grabbed the blue dress she had picked out when they first arrived. "I will take you up on that." Stella sat down where Ninel had been moments before.

Zina came out in the sparkling silver dress she had shown Stella and Ninel earlier. It fit her perfectly.

Mei Mei gave it a once over. "I think this is the opposite of Stella's- this one is almost too much."

Zina glanced at herself in the mirror. "True. I can barely pick myself out in this the sparkles are so overwhelming."

"Your turn, Hikaru!" Sophie pushed the violet-eyed girl into the stall Zina had occupied against her wishes. She shut the curtain before Hikaru could run out. "We'll all rotate trying on so things will go smoothly."

Madoka came out wearing a beaded blue, yellow, and green strapless mini dress. She mouthed the word "no" before sitting down and letting Sophie take her room, not giving anyone a chance to give their thoughts on the ensemble.

Aurora felt her stomach clench once more. Any minute now, she'd be expected to try on a dress and then dance out to show the other girls so they could give an honest opinion. Even though everyone was friendly, it set her nerves on edge. She gripped the bench she sat on tightly.

Hikaru came out wearing a red dress, holding it close to her chest. "This one is way too big," she shook her head vehemently. "Something is wrong with the sizing."

"I wanna see!" Sophie called. "Wait right there!"

"It doesn't even fit right," Hikaru grumbled, but she sat down nonetheless so Gin could go try on her first dress. Stella scooted over, kneeling, and held the back of the dress for Hikaru so she didn't have to hold it up the entire time.

Ninel burst from behind the curtain wearing the blue dress. It fell to the floor, with a train stretching out behind it.

"It's nice, but not what I'm looking for," Ninel told the others. "I'll have to keep searching."

Sophie came out at that time to inspect the dress. She was wearing a form fitting dark green off-the-shoulder dress with a slit up the side. A large white crystal was set in the center of the dress.

"Oh yeah, you can do much better. You should look for something that enhances your figure. You're so toned from all the swimming you do," she advised.

Ninel looked the dress over, examining her athletic figure. This definitely was not her dress. She sat down, awaiting her chance to try on something else.

Mei Mei took over Sophie's room while Sophie fiddled with Hikaru's dress, trying to make it fit better in the chest area but to no avail. Aurora picked one of the black dresses she had chosen and walked over to the room Ninel had just been in.

Gin came out in a sequined black gown, but similar to Hikaru, the sizing of the dress was off. She only briefly allowed the other girls to glimpse it before changing into something comfortable.

Mei Mei came out in the same purple dress Stella was wearing. Stella jumped up and put her arm around Mei Mei shouting out, "Twins!"

Amid the laughter outside the changing room, Aurora slipped into a long black dress with multicolored embellishments. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. She knew this wasn't the dress she was looking for, but the other girls expected her to come out and show them anyway. Aurora supposed this would be good practice for when she found a dress she really liked; it was best to get used to the honesty now, with a dress she wasn't interested in.

She stepped out, pushing the curtain aside. Sophie noticed her and gave her an encouraging smile.

"It looks good!" Mei Mei said.

"Thanks," Aurora said with a shy smile. "It's not what I want, but I think this is the color I'll go with."

"It looks great with your hair," Ninel offered.

The girls finished their rotations, spending another hour doing so in the process. Because there were other customers, they gave up one of the fitting rooms and had to use only two for the nine of them.

By the time they were finished, only Madoka was confident she had found the dress she was looking for. She refrained from purchasing it outright, instead choosing to put it on hold. There were two more stores they planned to visit. She wanted to explore all her options before making a final decision.

Sophie led the way again, weaving through the crowd that had now appeared in the downtown area.

The second store was a bridal apparel shop. In the very back was a section filled with bridesmaids' dresses, where the girls intended on looking at what was available. There were also several racks designated specifically as prom dresses.

Mei Mei selected a peach dress with orange accents. "Maybe not," she murmured, returning it to the rack.

"Any luck?" Zina appeared, arms full of dresses.

"Not yet," Mei Mei admitted. "I can't find anything that stands out the way I want it to. Especially if I get to go with Chao Xin."

Ninel and Madoka came walking up to them. "You're going with Chao Xin?" Ninel asked.

"No, no!" Mei Mei waved her hands, her face now flushed. "I mean, I'd like to go with him, but there's no saying it will happen."

"You two would make a great couple," the Russian-Burmese girl voiced her opinion. "Are you planning on asking him soon?"

"I have to," Mei Mei explained. "It sounds like other girls have already asked him; it's only a matter of time before he says yes to one of them."

"She has to do it this week," Zina informed them. "We're trying to figure out the best way to do it."

"Hmm. It sounds like you won't want to do it in a particularly public area, just in case," Madoka thought. She added hastily, "Not that I think he'll turn you down."

Mei Mei gave a small laugh. "It's okay, Madoka. I was thinking the same thing. I'd rather not do it where everyone else can see anyway. He already draws such a crowd. He has so many fangirls, I don't need any of them jumping in to interrupt by deciding _they_should go with him instead."

"After school might be a good idea," Ninel mentioned. "Most people will be gone, and on the off chance things don't go the way you hope, you won't be out alone with him. You can just go straight home."

Mei Mei smiled. "We'll figure out the details later. C'mon! We still have shopping to do."

"Are you guys ready to try on?" Gin called, waving from across the room. The other girls rushed over to meet her. Gin was already wearing a glitzy wine-red dress.

After another hour of trying on the dresses, a few of the girls had found their dresses. Mei Mei, Gin, and Ninel had located what they felt they were looking for. Ninel had wandered off to the accessories section in hopes of finding something to further accent the dress she'd chosen. Gin looked into her shopping bag, happily observing the glimmering black fabric inside.

Madoka and Zina decided to run back to the first store to look at a few more options there while the rest of the girls continued on to the third store. Sophie gave them directions so they would be able to meet back up as soon as they finished.

Madoka went over to the shoe section. In particular, she was looking for a pair of jewel-encrusted flats to go with the dress she put on hold.

The two-piece dresses caught Zina's eye. She hadn't considered one before, but suddenly

it seemed like a fantastic idea. She picked out two in her size: one in rose gold, and the other in blue. She held the fabric against her caramel skin, trying to decide which one looked better.

Once Madoka had settled on a pair of shoes, she went over to the fitting rooms to help Zina.

Zina tried on both, but it was immediately clear which dress was best. Content with their purchases, the two girls hurried on to where the rest of the girls were waiting.

The store was a flurry of activity. Stella, Aurora, Sophie, and Hikaru were still hunting down their dresses. Hikaru had enlisted the help of several others to help her find what she was looking for.

"I think you'll look good in red or blue," Gin told her. "Really, it's what you want. Try them both on."

Hikaru gave her an exasperated sigh. "I've tried on so much already," she groaned.

"Then forget about the color. What styles did you like best?" Ninel pressed.

Stella ran her hand across a rack of lime green dresses. She knew that was the color she was looking for, but she couldn't find the dress she pictured in her mind. Nothing she had seen at the two previous stores poofed out enough for her liking.

Aurora was back over at the black dresses. She studied one with silver swirls and black and silver glitter decorating it. Aurora decided to try it out. A quick peek at the shoes helped her find a pair that matched so she could get a better idea of the dress's full effect once it was on.

Sophie had managed to break away from Hikaru long enough to start looking at dresses for herself again. This was their last stop. If she didn't find anything here, Sophie would have to go back to one of the other stores.

The sun was setting by the time each of the girls had chosen a dress and accompanying accessories. Everyone was understandably starving by that time. There were plenty of restaurants around to pick from. Several of the girls had driven to the park that afternoon, so the girls walked back there first. They dropped off their dresses in the cars. This way, they didn't have to carry the heavy bags with them everywhere they went or worry about the precious contents being damaged.

"So," Sophie began as she twirled spaghetti onto her fork. "Who's planning on going with someone?"

Hikaru rolled her eyes. "Can't we stop this for one minute? I want to enjoy my food without having to worry about a silly high school dance for once."

"That's easy for you to say, I know you've got a thing for Ryuga."

Hikaru dropped her fork in shock as her face flushed red. "S-Sophie!" she sputtered. "That's private! Besides, I _so_do not like him!"

Mei Mei giggled. "Oh c'mon, Hikaru. We spent the whole day shopping together. I think we can be honest about this," Mei Mei paused. "I've already told a few of you, but I'm planning on asking Chao Xin this week."

The statement was met by a chorus of excited "Ooohs."

"Good luck!" Stella encouraged.

Mei Mei nodded. "I need to take this into my own hands. I can't stand around waiting for him to ask me."

"That's the attitude!" Madoka cheered.

"Hey, wait a minute," Zina said suddenly. "Isn't that Chao Xin outside right now?"

The nine girls plastered themselves against the window, peering out. Across the street, they could clearly see Chao Xin in plain sight, hugging another girl they didn't recognize. All eyes turned to Mei Mei, whose own eyes had gone wide, waiting for a reaction.

* * *

Marcos was already regretting his decision to tag along with King and Masamune on their trip to find clothes for prom. Thus far, only those two and Gingka had shown up, and the situation was already getting out of hand. A vein in his forehead twitched. He forced a laugh several times, so the other boys wouldn't be aware of his current irritation. In fairness though, Marcos regularly sought the most difficult path in search of a challenge, and this was certainly something new for him to adapt to.

Kyoya was supposedly on his way, and would be bringing a friend. Marcos felt as though he had a fairly good concept of the type of person Kyoya was. He hoped his friend would be similar.

Gingka had also alluded that one more might be joining them, but not until later. Marcos didn't waste time trying to figure out who it could be, fearing the worst.

After locating the menswear store, which took obscenely longer than necessary, Marcos immediately split off from the others. Had he taken the helm like he should've, they wouldn't have gotten nearly as lost.

Marcos studied a pair of leather dress shoes. The door opened, causing the chimes above it to go off. He turned to see the newcomers.

Kyoya had finally arrived, his green hair sticking out high above the clothing racks. Marcos moved to get a better view of who was accompanying him. A boy with tanned skin and orange and brown hair stood next to Kyoya. Nile. He should have expected this.

Knowing Kyoya had brought another reasonable person with him, Marcos felt that shopping would not be the complete pain he had anticipated.

The door swung open once more, and Gingka called out happily to the person walking through it. They wore a jacket over their shoulders like a cape, and had white spiky hair with a red accent.

Marcos raised an eyebrow. Things were about to get interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Update time :D Thank you GinMado, SailorCandy, rokebuto, and Moonshine Orchids for your reviews! Last chapter was the one I really looked forward to writing, glad everyone liked it! To reiterate from last time, not all OCs appear in this chapter; if you do not see yours here, then you can count on seeing them next chapter. Likewise if you do see yours, just a heads up that they probably won't appear in the next, but in the end everyone will get equal time.**

**And one more friendly reminder, if you have any preference for what your character's crush wears to prom and have not yet told me, please let me know!**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

Ryuga had entered the establishment, appearing distinctly disgruntled. "Why am I here again?"

Gingka ran up to him. "I told you already! We need to go to prom! You can't wear that to prom."

Ryuga muttered something under his breath about wearing whatever he damn well pleased and nobody was going to tell him otherwise, but before he could exit the store, Gingka and Masamune dragged him over to look at the jackets.

"Unhand me!"

Similar to his opinion of Kyoya, Marcos held a healthy respect for Ryuga. Ryuga would make a good ally should a situation ever arise.

Nile snorted as he and Kyoya joined Marcos. "Can you believe those two?"

"Those three," Kyoya corrected, noticing King was now assisting the others. "Can anyone remind me why we're here again?"

"Please, Kyoya," Nile rolled his eyes. "Out of all of us, you're the only one who actually has a reason to be here. Isn't your girlfriend expecting you to go with her?"

A dark look clouded Kyoya's face. "I've already preordered a ticket," he admitted.

"We could leave you here and skip out on the event entirely. The rest of us have no such commitment," Marcos commented. Nile gave him an appreciative grin.

"Don't even think about it."

Buying suits should have been an easy task, or at the very least it would've been had three excitable members not been part of their group. Ryuga didn't bother trying anything on, instead picking out several items and throwing them on the counter to be rung out as he stared intimidatingly at the salesperson. He glowered back at Gingka. Marcos wondered how Gingka had managed to convince the loner to tag along in the first place, or why Ryuga even had an interest in prom.

Kyoya, Nile, and Marcos took much more care in making their decisions. Kyoya temporarily refrained from buying a tie until he found out what color dress his girlfriend would be wearing, assuming she would want to match. Marcos advised him to grab a black tie, just in case. It wouldn't hurt to have on hand. Black went with everything. He could always purchase something in another color later once he knew what he needed.

Finding what they were looking for didn't take particularly long, at least for the three of them. It was a fairly straightforward process, figuring out what sizes and styles fit best. While the others were still hunting down things to try one, they had already moved on to selecting their shoes.

King, Masamune, and Gingka should never have been allowed in the store in the first place, or at the very least they really needed to be properly supervised by an adult. Marcos was expecting them all to be kicked out any minute. King and Masamune had gotten overly competitive, and were seeing who could pile on more clothing. Both of them had managed to put on at least six jackets. King was also examining a pink tie with pineapples on it. He stuck it around his head. Meanwhile, Gingka was wearing a powder blue suit with a ruffled shirt. Ryuga scooted ever closer to the door to escape the madness, shopping bag in hand, watching carefully with disgust written across his face.

"Gingka, if you buy that, I will deny we ever had anything resembling what could be considered friendship between us," Kyoya shook his head. "I'm embarrassed to call you my rival."

King chose that moment to burst from one of the fitting rooms wearing a suit that looked straight from the 1800s with a tailcoat and top hat, complete with cravat. From a nearby display, he pulled a walking stick off the rack and danced around with it. Masamune emerged donning a pinstriped outfit that made him look like a mob boss.

"Ha!" Masamune pointed and laughed at King. "No girl is ever gonna want to go to prom with you dressed like that!"

"Hey!" King said indignantly. "I look refined and quite high class! Any girl would be lucky to go with me!"

"Try telling that to Stella! There's no way she'll ever agree to go with you wearing that, man! That thing should be in a coffin!" The two continued squabbling back and forth while Gingka now paraded around in a lemon yellow ensemble.

Marcos, Kyoya, and Nile looked at each other. Ryuga had already vanished out the door without anyone noticing. It was time for them to go, too.

* * *

"Just because we don't know who she is doesn't mean she's anyone important," Zina reassured Mei Mei. "That could have been his cousin for all we know."

"Right," Ninel agreed. She fixed the bow on the back of Mei Mei's short pink halter dress for her. Monday had finally come around, and the Chinese girl was a bundle of nerves. After seeing Chao Xin outside the restaurant Saturday evening, she'd been stressing over whether or not to go through with it.

Mei Mei had dressed for the occasion, wanting to look a bit nicer than usual, but before she took any action, she was going to use lunch as an opportunity to figure out what exactly Chao Xin had been up to over the weekend. Zina and Ninel would be sitting with her at the table for moral support.

"You have to go through with this," Zina said bluntly. "If you really want to be with Chao Xin, you have to honestly let him know how you feel. It's the only way."

"I know," Mei Mei sighed, her voice a little shaky.

The three girls made it to their lunch table. It was empty, so fortunately they still had a few minutes to regroup.

Zina found her eyes wandering, distracted. With all the talk of prom dates, she had been brought back to thinking about whom she wanted to attend prom with. She hadn't seen him much lately, but Zina knew Chris had to be around.

She was friends with the spiky blonde-haired blader, but things had changed for her one day when the two of them were hanging out after school. They were laughing about something or other, she couldn't even remember what, then her stomach had swooped out of nowhere, like it was filled with butterflies and Zina realized it wasn't all in her head. Her heart had been moving in this direction for a while, she just hadn't noticed.

Zina glanced down at the table, looking at her food. She'd been incredibly busy lately. Next time she saw Chris, she would have to make plans with him. It had been too long since they'd spent time together as it was.

"Oh my god, here he comes," Mei Mei said breathlessly.

"Breathe," Ninel instructed, holding back a smile. Chi-yun and Dashan were also now in view.

"Okay," Mei Mei steadied herself.

"This is the easy part," Zina reminded her. "Once we figure out who that girl was, it won't matter anymore. You'll be able to ask him after school like we planned, just like you wanted before we knew she existed."

Dashan and Chi-yun reached the table first, Chao Xin's attention captured by a few fangirls. Mei Mei fidgeted.

"How's everyone doing?" Dashan asked as he took his seat. "Anything fun coming up?"

"I have a swim meet in two weeks," Ninel offered. "If anyone would like to, you are more than welcome to attend."

"Ooh, that sounds fun," Mei Mei said, sounding a little more like her normal self. "I'm sure you'll do great, Ninel."

"Thank you," Ninel responded. "I'm excited. My times have improved somewhat since the last meet. I can't wait to see how this one turns out."

Just then, Chao Xin sat down. The three girls exchanged a glance. It was time to set the first part of their plan in motion.

"Anyone do anything fun over the weekend?" Mei Mei asked. "We went prom shopping."

"It was great," Zina said. "Hey, Chao Xin, I think I saw you while I was downtown. Were you in the area?" Their strategy wasn't exactly subtle, but the goal was to get answers as fast as possible. Like Zina herself said, it was best to be direct. Carefully tiptoeing around wouldn't get them the information they needed.

Chao Xin looked surprised. "Yeah I was. I didn't see you, though. I was with a girl I met the other day. She just moved in down the street from me, so I was showing her around."

"I see," Ninel said smoothly. "She's new? Does she go to school here?"

He shook his head. "No, she goes to a private school. But she's really cool. I'm hanging out with her after school again today." Mei Mei chewed her lip. Chao Xin continued, "Actually, I'm thinking about asking her to prom if things go well. It's nice to have a girl around who doesn't ogle me all the time, and I think it'd be a great opportunity for her to meet new people."

The three girls fell silent, unsure what to do next. Mei Mei squirmed. It would be way too obvious if the three of them left together, but Mei Mei definitely needed a chance to pull herself back together.

"Oh!" Zina said suddenly. "I totally forgot. Mei Mei, we were planning on working on our project today, weren't we? We need to get to the library to get started ASAP."

"Right," Mei Mei said, a little dazed. She stood up. Hurriedly, she left the lunchroom with Zina, leaving Ninel to handle the boys. Ninel nodded to Zina when she glanced back, signaling she had the situation under control.

Zina and Mei Mei quickly located the nearest bathroom. One of the stalls was occupied, but other than that they were alone.

Mei Mei looked at herself in the mirror, holding her face in her hands. "What do I do?" she whispered.

Zina collected her thoughts fast. "Well, he hasn't asked her yet. We still have that working for us. Truthfully, I don't think asking him today is best, but that doesn't mean you don't have a chance. We don't know when he's going to ask her, if he does at all. He said he was considering it, not that he's going to for sure. Anything could happen. You've got this."

"What do you mean?" Mei Mei asked, eyes shiny.

"He said he liked this girl because she didn't hang all over him the way all the others do. You don't do that either; we just have to remind him of that," Zina said encouragingly.

Mei Mei sniffled. "Thank you for being honest with me. I think you're right."

Zina found herself nodding. She wondered if there was a chance she could talk to Chao Xin at some point. She wouldn't say anything blatantly obvious about Mei Mei that would give her crush away, but there had to be something she could do. "We'll just have to come up with a new course of action. Let's take a step back and think it over. In the meantime, do your best to remind Chao Xin that you're awesome, and would make a fantastic date."

The toilet flushed behind them. Zina tensed, wondering who exactly had overheard their conversation. Hopefully it wasn't one of his fangirls, because there was no time to flee the bathroom before whoever it was came out of the stall and saw them.

A girl with waist-length straight black hair came out. Zina breathed a sigh of relief. It was only Gin.

"She's right, you know," Gin informed Mei Mei, washing her hands. "I didn't fully catch what happened, but if you want to go to prom with Chao Xin, you've got to go for it. Figure out the best way to approach the situation, then go in for the kill."

Mei Mei met her gaze, determined now even more than before. "I will."

"Good!" Gin flipped her hair. "Let me know how it goes. I've got some work of my own to do now."

Gin left the bathroom, headed in the direction of the library. Everything would work out with Mei Mei and Chao Xin, she felt. Gin thought back to the conversation all of them had over dinner the other day. She had no idea if she'd be going to prom with someone. Kyoya was out of the question, with his girlfriend, and other than that she wasn't really interested in anyone.

The green flyer announcing prom that dominated the walls had since been replaced by yet another prom flyer. This one declared that the theme would be revealed next week, when tickets officially went on sale.

The library was busier than ever when Gin arrived. She'd peeked in the lunchroom earlier and noticed her new table was completely empty. As a result, she thought it best to get ahead on her homework rather than spending lunch alone.

Gin did her best to find an empty table, but the task was proving easier said than done. Just when she was about to give up, Gin picked up on familiar spiked dark green hair and a ponytail out of the corner of her eye. Perfect.

Gin slid into the empty chair across from Kyoya.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I needed a break from Gingka," Kyoya muttered. Gin noticed his lunch was right in front of him, despite the fact there were signs plastered all over the library stating food was not allowed. "We shopped for prom this weekend and it went about as well as you'd expect."

Gin didn't dare laugh in front of him, but she could imagine what had happened. She reached into her bag, taking out her homework. She started with math, a subject she excelled in. It wouldn't take long to complete.

"What, you're doing homework now? I thought that assignment wasn't due until Friday," Kyoya asked as he chomped on his sandwich. "It's lunch. What are you, some kind of goody-two-shoes?"

Gin ignored the comment, smirking slightly. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to be ahead. Besides, while you're panicking the night before it's due because you procrastinated, I'm already done and can do whatever I want."

Kyoya didn't have a response to that, instead taking another bite of his sandwich.

Gin looked around the room. As much as she'd heard about Kyoya's girlfriend the past few weeks, she had yet to see her. She kind of wanted to ask about it, but chose to refrain. She wasn't sure how to bring it up in a way that would come across as casual.

Instead, Gin found something else to focus on: the same topic that ruled every conversation these days. "You said you went prom shopping? How did that go?"

Kyoya shrugged. "I got what I needed. And I've got a ticket on order. I'm done worrying about prom until it's here now."

"Cool," Gin nodded. "A group of us went dress shopping this weekend, too. My dress is being hemmed, but it'll be done in the next week. Any idea how you're gonna get there?"

"No clue," Kyoya said, waving his hand. "I don't really care, either. My girlfriend will take care of it. I'm only going because she wants to."

"Oh," Gin frowned. "That doesn't seem fair. Did you talk to her about it?"

"It's not really a big deal," Kyoya shrugged again. "It's only a few hours. And, I guess everyone else will be there so it won't be a total wash."

Before Gin could say anything else, Kyoya stood up and pushed his chair in. "Anyway, I'm supposed to be meeting with her soon. I should get going. I'll catch you around, Gin." He slung his backpack over one shoulder and disappeared into the bookshelves.

Gin tried to return to her math homework, but her focus was broken. It wasn't her business necessarily, but she had to wonder why Kyoya was with his girlfriend in the first place. It wasn't just about what he'd told her concerning prom, either. Something felt oddly off when he talked about the girl, even if Gin could pin down what it was.

Again, Gin wished she could ask about it. She really knew nothing about him and his mysterious relationship, though, so she preferred to avoid pushing any boundaries. Madoka might be able to answer some of her questions, although Gin was on the fence about bothering her with inquiries, too. It wasn't that she thought Madoka would be annoyed or anything of the sort; Madoka wasn't like that. Gin simply didn't want to come across as too interested in someone who was already spoken for. For the moment, she was content for her crush to remain a secret.

She forced herself to look down at the problem before her. Kyoya wouldn't be going to prom with her. She needed to face that reality. At least she would have her new friends by her side every step of the way.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you GinMado, SailorCandy, MoonshineOrchids, and skycold for your reviews! I will do my best to continue updating as quickly as possible, though I have picked up a second job, and I don't yet know how that'll impact my writing schedule. Also, glad to see you're still around skycold; I remember seeing your reviews back when I was writing _A Summer to Remember_ :)**

**Anyway, I kind of did a terrible job splitting up the OCs and incorporated most of them last chapter, so this one's a little light on characters. Hope y'all don't mind. Enjoy!**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

Stella nervously patted down her dark hair, playing with the vivid lime green strands on the ends. She twisted one of the earrings from her triple forward helix piercing back into place before tightening one of the balls on the industrial she had on her other ear. Prom tickets were finally going on sale this week.

She'd heard from one of the other girls that Mei Mei's plan to ask Chao Xin hadn't gone as expected, but the girl hadn't given up hope. Stella admired her tenacity. She really hoped Mei Mei would get to go with him.

The thought brought Stella back to her own predicament. She figured she would purchase a ticket for herself and be done with it, but naturally things couldn't be that easy. There were still so many factors unaccounted for, the biggest being she didn't know if she was going to have a date.

Stella struggled to think of whom she wanted to go with. Admittedly, she did have a bit of a crush on one of her friends, but she tried to keep the feeling down, knowing it would absolutely grow if she didn't. If her crush interfered with that friendship, she would be devastated. Of course, there were ways to figure out if he liked her back, but there was no way Stella was going to ask Masamune to find out how King felt about her. She would never hear the end of it.

So, when lunch came around, Stella would be buying a ticket for one. She couldn't guarantee she would have a date, but she could guarantee she would have a good time. She was thrilled with her dress, and once alterations were complete, it would fit her perfectly. That part was already a dream come true.

During announcements first period, the prom theme would finally be revealed. Stella thought it was a little backwards to wait until the event was only a month away before telling anyone what it was, but it wasn't like she could change it. Most people already would have purchased outfits at this point. Anyone who waited to match the theme would be up against a time crunch and left to choose from whatever dresses hadn't sold out.

Stella smiled weakly as she dug through her locker for the textbook she needed, hating that she had already eaten the last emergency bag of gummy bears she'd stashed in there the previous week. She was forever eating them, and in times like this they helped to calm her down. King was in her first class of the day. She'd definitely have a chance to talk with him after the announcement was made, and get his thoughts.

Stella made her way to chemistry, her favorite class. King was already at the lab table they shared. The two of them would have been partners anyway, especially since Masamune wasn't in the class with them, but the teacher also insisted the two stick together. Stella had a natural aptitude for the subject, and King had a natural aptitude for making things blow up. While Stella too enjoyed making mini explosions, she understood school was not the best place for that. King on the other hand had set their station on fire three times last semester without even trying. Between the two of them, they managed to keep the chaos to a minimum.

"What do you think we'll do today?" King asked excitedly as she sat down.

"I think it's just a notes day," Stella responded.

"Aww," King complained. "That lab last week was so fun!"

Stella agreed. The days they actually got to do lab work were ten times better than the days they spent staring at the whiteboard scribbling down things to remember.

The loudspeaker crackled suddenly and everyone sat up rapt with attention.

The usual messages were broadcasted over the system, everyone hanging on the edge of their seats as they waited.

"And finally, this year's prom theme will be… Galaxy."

Stella didn't even hear the rest as half of the class starting whooping, their teacher desperately trying to calm them down despite it being a lost cause.

Galaxy? That sounded interesting- and different. The decorations were guaranteed to be gorgeous and sparkling. A night surrounded by the cosmos sounded fantastic. Stella's mind spun. Her dress didn't exactly match the theme, but that didn't matter.

Next to her, King complained again. "I should've gotten that suit with the stars on it!"

Stella looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"Two weeks ago, I went shopping with Gingka and Masamune and a few other guys! It was awesome! Except the three of us were asked to leave and had to go to another store last week to get what we needed. But there was this super cool blue and black suit with a bunch of stars!"

Stella tried to conceal a laugh. Of course those three had managed to get themselves into trouble. "I'm sure whatever you got is fine."

"I guess," King acknowledged. "But still!"

The teacher finally managed to convince the class to wind down, but there was still a soft murmur.

"Hey, you went shopping a few weeks ago too, right Stella? What did you get?"

"I got a dress," she deadpanned, then followed up with a smile. "I want it to be a surprise though, so I'm not really telling people what it looks like. But if it makes you feel better, I don't match the theme either."

"All right!" King cheered. "Hey, we could be non-matching and go together!" His tanned complexion suddenly turned a faint shade of red.

Stella's eyes widened. Had he really just said that?

"I mean, you, me, Masamune, and the others," King corrected hastily. "We don't have to go, like,_together_, you know."

"Of course not," Stella murmured in response. King was still that odd shade of red as he quickly changed the subject to their homework, stumbling over a few words as he talked rapid-fire to the point where she couldn't really make out what he was saying.

Stella looked away fast at her book to keep herself from flushing. She wondered if she wasn't going to have to carefully pry some answers out of Masamune after all.

* * *

Aurora studied her reflection closely in the school bathroom mirror, her eyes drawn away from the entirety of her heart-shaped face to the cluster of diamond-shaped stars that could be seen in her right eye. She stared at the birthmark for a few moments. Her violet eyes were already framed by long lashes and drew enough attention that the small stars could easily be overlooked sometimes.

Sophie appeared in the mirror behind her. Aurora straightened up and fixed her posture immediately.

"Have you bought your prom ticket yet?" The blue-haired girl asked.

Aurora shook her head. "I will tomorrow. I'm guessing you already have yours?"

Sophie nodded with a slight smile. "Wales already took care of it. He preordered them when the option became available. He's going to pick them up in the cafeteria during lunch."

The bell rang. Aurora began walking towards the door.

"Wait!" She felt Sophie's hand on her shoulder. "Look, I've got most of my things organized for prom, but what about you? Are you planning on going with anyone?"

Aurora shrugged. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "If someone asks me, I'll have to think about it, but it's not my biggest priority at the moment."

"Okay," Sophie accepted. "If you need help with anything, though, just let me know. I'm here to help."

With that, the two parted ways to their upcoming class. Aurora quickly made it to literature and slid into her seat, patiently awaiting the next bell to signal the start of class.

Most of the class was alive with chatter. Aurora kept to herself, arranging her notes and textbook accordingly on her desk. She really wished she were in her chorus class instead. Music was the one thing that she was always comfortable with and made her feel safe, even if she was singing in a large group with other students despite her timidity. When she lost herself in song, everything else seemed to melt away if only for a few short minutes. As soon as she got home, she was going to play one of her instruments to help her unwind.

Sitting directly across from her was Nile. Aurora didn't know the Egyptian teen particularly well. He'd transferred into this section of the required class at the start of second semester and had occupied the seat next to her ever since, but the two hadn't had much of an opportunity to speak.

She glanced at his brown hair, accented by bright orange and dark green eyes that stood out against his tanned skin, opposite her own porcelain skin. Aurora had never paid properly paid him attention before, but he was actually pretty cute.

He turned and the two of them locked eyes. Aurora broke the contact instantly, blushing slightly. The grip she had on her textbook tightened as her nerves began to dance.

"Hey."

Aurora closed her eyes and took a second to steady herself with a deep breath before allowing herself to respond.

"Yes?"

"You're… Aurora, right?"

"Yes, that's me," Aurora replied, wishing she sounded more assured than she felt.

"I'm Nile." He looked deep into her eyes and Aurora felt her heart do a flip.

"It's nice to officially meet you, Nile," Aurora said automatically. "What do you think of the book we're reading?" She despised that she didn't have anything more interesting to say.

Nile shrugged. "It's a nice distraction from the only thing everyone else is talking about." He gestured to a cluster of students off to the right who were, predictably, discussing prom.

"It really is," Aurora said, finding that she genuinely agreed. The obsession had become overwhelming. Even when she was talking with it about Sophie, Aurora preferred when the topic changed, even if was just about some other aspect of school. There was a lot of pressure stemming from prom that she hadn't anticipated.

"I'm still going, though," Nile informed her. "My friends are all going, so I figure I should, too. It can't be that bad, can it?"

Aurora giggled a little. "No, I suppose not. My friend Sophie is all about prom. I'm not sure how I feel, but I think it'll be fun to get dressed up."

Nile made a face. "I don't really care about that part. The whole thing is over the top, but you're only in high school once I guess. Better make the most of it."

"Indeed," Aurora mused.

The teacher then called the students to order, ending their conversation as class began.

Aurora peeked back over at Nile throughout the duration of class, wishing he were in another one of her classes so they could talk again later. Despite her shyness, she'd really felt a connection with him just then. She wondered if he'd felt it, too.

* * *

"Gingka, this is a terrible idea, and I don't know why anyone hasn't tried to stop you before this."

"I think it's fantastic!" Gingka replied indignantly. "She _can't_say no when she sees what I've got planned."

Kyoya and Gingka stood on the flat roof of the school, having sneaked up through an opening in the custodial closet on the top floor several minutes prior. The closet had a stairwell that led right to the top. Kyoya was shaking his head repeatedly.

"If you go through with this, there's a good chance you'll get yourself killed. You can't do this," he said.

Gingka shrugged. "Trust me, I've got it all planned out. First, I'll get her attention, then I'll ask her. It's foolproof!"

Kyoya didn't understand why Gingka insisted on going through with this, but he knew nothing he could say was going to change the red-haired blader's mind. Gingka was relentless now that he'd set his mind on doing what was the most dramatic promposal possible in Kyoya's opinion. He could think of half a dozen things that could go wrong easily.

He groaned. At least he had tried to stop Gingka, even if his mind was set. That had to count for something.

As for himself, Kyoya hadn't even needed to ask his girlfriend to prom. The two of them had automatically assumed they were going together, and that had saved both of them a lot of trouble.

"Help me with these ropes, Kyoya. We need to make sure they're on tight."

Kyoya narrowly abstained from facepalming. The ropes should have been the least of his worries.

Any minute now, the bell was to ring signaling the end of the school day. Somewhere in the halls, Masamune was stationed with a walkie-talkie. Gingka had the other. Kyoya didn't understand why when the three of them all had working cell phones, but apparently they were integral to the plan. The three of them had slipped out of last period study hall early to set this plan in motion.

Masamune's voice crackled over the walkie-talkie. "Uh oh! The vice president is coming my way! I gotta hide before he yells at me for being out of class without a hall pass!"

"Masamune, no! You have to stay in position!" Gingka cried. Once done with his message, he tugged at the ropes around his waist to tighten them.

Kyoya wondered if it was too late to leave and he was already an accessory to this mess.

Masamune's voice came back over the little radio. "I'm in the bathroom! I'll be out as soon as the bell rings!"

"You better be!" Gingka yelled back. He stepped over to the edge of the roof. "Whoa. That's a long way down."

Kyoya sighed, exasperated. "No kidding. There's still time to abandon this crazy plan."

An unfamiliar voice sudden crackled in the air around them. "What was that? I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm about three miles out."

Gingka looked at the walkie-talkie in confusion. "Who was that?"

Kyoya groaned again. "Truck drivers have a tendency to use those things. You're probably on the same channel as a few other people nearby. I told you phones were the best option."

"Maybe you're right…" Gingka barked into the device, "Alright, Masamune! Switch to your cell phone! There are other people on this channel!"

"Roger!"

"What?"

Gingka tossed the walkie-talkie onto the concrete roof.

Kyoya's phone rang. He didn't have to look at the caller ID to know who it was.

"Yes, Masamune?"

"The bell just rang! She's leaving class now. I'll let you know when she leaves her locker!"

"Alright!" Gingka beamed. He began making some last minute adjustments.

Kyoya sat down on the edge of the roof, watching the number of students leaving the building increase. He put his phone on speaker, placing it on the roof so that Gingka could hear Masamune as well. Kyoya did not intend on being their go-between.

Masamune informed them that she had just left her locker and headed toward the exit with Gin and Hikaru accompanying her.

From what Kyoya was able to string together, it sounded like Masamune was following her close behind. He wondered if she had caught on yet. Masamune wasn't exactly known for being quiet, or having any sort of tact. He was probably right on her heels.

"I see her!" Gingka cried excitedly.

Kyoya looked down and saw Madoka walking out of the school. It was time for the madness to begin.

"Go, Pegasus!" Gingka expertly launched his bey so that it landed inches in front of Madoka, instantly capturing her attention.

Madoka glanced up in the direction the bey had come from, confused. Kyoya couldn't make out her expression from so high up.

Gingka grabbed his large cardboard sign. Hastily written in thick, bold black marker he had scribbled down his promposal. In the fifteen minutes they'd been on the roof, Gingka had agonized over what to write, but in the end he'd gone with a simple, "Madoka, will you go to prom with me?"

Now came the part Kyoya was most concerned about. Gingka dashed all the way to the other end of the roof, then built up speed as he came running back and jumped off the roof.

Kyoya closed his eyes, cringing. There was no possible way this could end well.

When he opened them, he noticed the rope had gone taut. They'd tied it to the sturdy door they'd come through, figuring it was strong enough to hold his weight while shut.

After preparing himself, Kyoya looked over the edge.

Gingka had tried to tie the ropes so that he would remain upright in the air after he jumped, but clearly that hadn't worked out as planned. The rope holding him swung back and forth a little, the result of the extreme momentum Gingka invoked from his running start. He'd flipped his sign upside down so it was readable. Kyoya peered at the girl who had been the target audience of this message.

Madoka stared, her jaw open as she processed the scene before her.

"So what do you think?" Gingka called, upside-down as he tried to use his musculature to pull himself right side up with no luck. He dropped his sign into the bushes below.

"Of course I'll go with you, Gingka!" Madoka called, laughing. She ran over to where Gingka dangled upside down near the second floor. As he swung around, he attempted to grab hold of a tree about five feet from him to hold himself steady, but missed completely and continued to spin in a circle.

It took twenty minutes to get him down safely, but in the end, all was as it should be.

Hikaru watched on in amusement. Madoka was glowing from the inside. She ran over to Gingka, giving him a hug.

"Idiot."

Hikaru turned to see Ryuga standing next to her. He was the only one still standing around looking less than impressed with what had transpired.

"People go all out for prom," Hikaru said, forcing herself to look at the taller boy. His intimidating aura sometimes made it hard to properly address or be near him, but she wasn't about to let that stop her. "Are you really surprised?"

Ryuga snorted. "No. I'm more surprised he didn't break his neck."

Hikaru let out a laugh before she could stop it. That was not the answer she'd be expecting.

His golden eyes stared fleetingly into hers. Hikaru could have sworn he shared the briefest hint of a smile with her before he turned and starting walking off the school property, his coat billowing out behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Remember how last time I mentioned I did a poor job separating the characters for the chapters? This one is extra long because of that, hope it was worth the wait :D Thank you Moonshine Orchids, rokebuto, skycold, Guest, and GinMado for reviewing! I appreciate that you all take time out of your day to not only read but also review my story. On to the chapter; only a few more until it's prom time!**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

Ninel turned her neck slowly from side to side, then reached her arms upward, stretching out her shoulders. Her heat was set to start any minute now, and she was starting to feel the familiar, usual comforting rush of adrenaline. She bounced on her toes a few times before adjusting her swim cap, making sure no flyaway hair tendrils were peeking out.

"Ready, Dolphin Girl?" One of her teammates asked.

"Of course," Ninel replied, quite self-assured. She'd been pushing herself as hard as she could for weeks. The win was hers, and no one was about to take it from her. She refused to let that happen.

Over the past week, she'd spent an extra half-hour in the pool each practice day, stubbornly refusing to leave until she was satisfied, even when her teammates tried to get her to go out with them. The goal was in sight, and she wasn't about to let it slip away just so she could grab a slice of pizza with them. She kept her practices to what she felt would reasonably help her improve, but also would not cause her to overexert herself right before the meet.

Ninel took herself through a few more stretches before heading out of the locker room to the pool accompanied by her teammates.

The crowd was enormous, but she should've expected that. Today's meet featured four other schools, one of them their biggest rival. That was more than enough to draw people to come watch. It was their biggest meet of the season, other than regionals. If Ninel won, she would qualify for regionals, and then the real training would begin.

Ninel glanced up in the stands, trying see if any of her friends had shown up. Over on the right, she saw Sophie waving. Sophie was with Aurora, Wales, Julian, and Klaus.

On the other side, she saw Zina. She was talking to Chao Xin, who had an expressionless look on his face. Next to them were Mei Mei, Chi-yun, and Dashan. Ninel waved up to them, and was delighted when they waved back. She was thrilled to have such a strong support system behind her.

She'd just seen Dashan last night while working on math together as they did, and at that time he had told her he would be coming to watch her today. Seeing him in the stands now made her heart soar.

Ninel took a deep breath, calming her heart rate. Excitement already filled the room and she could feel those energies filling her. She couldn't let her crush distract her.

"Next up, the first heat of the one hundred meter butterfly."

Ninel's stomach flipped. She was up!

Ninel took her place in the lane she had been assigned. First, she had to get through this, then provided she placed, she would advance to the final round. From there, the top three would progress to regionals.

Ninel crouched into position. She had zero worries about this first heat. The second round would be tougher, filled with stronger, more competitive swimmers.

The whistle blew and Ninel flew off her starting point into the water. She swam through the water with ease, and before she knew it, it was over. Ninel had finished first, elated, securing herself in the final round.

She hopped out of the pool, earning high-fives and congratulations from her teammates. Ninel wrapped herself in a towel and sat down on the bench, giving her heart rate a chance to slow. Now all she had to do was cheer on the rest of the team until she was up again.

She watched the remainder of the butterfly heats carefully. There was some serious competition. Ninel recognized one of the winners as a girl who had placed at regionals last year. She was going to be tough to beat.

Soon enough, the final rounds were starting. Ninel stood up, unable to sit any longer.

Once the 100 meter butterfly was announced again, she barely refrained from running up to the starting block. For her, the meet was only just beginning. She pulled her goggles over her eyes.

Again the whistle blew. Ninel jumped from the block with perfect timing, making a small splash as she entered the water for a second time and it wrapped around her comfortingly.

She refused to pay her competitors any attention, focusing on the task at hand. She kicked her legs powerfully as she propelled herself through the water. All of her hours over the past few weeks practicing late had led up to this.

She quickly reached the other end of the pool, using her legs to push off the wall back in the direction she came from.

Ninel heard some splashing directly behind her- or was it in front? It didn't matter. Fans were yelling and shouting from all directions, sending uproarious thunder out in waves. She used the momentum she'd gained from pushing off the wall to force herself to go even faster.

The end was in sight now. She'd be there in just a few more strokes.

She slapped the end of the pool, closing her eyes. Her breath was ragged. She didn't dare look at the scoreboard yet.

When she finally opened her eyes, she saw several other swimmers had also finished. She had no idea what order any of them had been in. Ninel pulled off her swim cap and lifted herself out of the pool.

The scoreboard glittered as the times were listed. Ninel gasped.

Right next to a big number one was her name. She'd even smashed her own personal record.

Ninel resisted the urge to scream her happiness to the world. She'd wanted to place so badly and she'd exceeded that goal and then some. Not only had she earned a spot in regionals, she'd won the entire butterfly heat! All of her hard work had really paid off.

Her teammates swarmed her, chanting "Dolphin Girl" over and over again. In that glorious moment, Ninel felt she couldn't be any happier.

Later, Ninel waited until the locker room was empty when the meet was over. The rest of the team was going out to celebrate. Ninel promised to meet up with them a little later.

She glanced around the pool stadium, relieved to find it was empty. Ninel dove into the pool, allowing herself to relax and let the water ease her tension. After all the excitement and commotion throughout the day, she needed some time to herself. She floated on her back for a moment, breathing in deeply.

"You never quit, do you?"

Ninel's eyes bolted open. She stood up quickly, looking around.

Dashan appeared from behind the bleachers, staring on in amusement. Ninel let out a sigh of relief.

"I suppose not," Ninel admitted. She climbed out of the pool to meet him.

"You were on fire today, Ninel," Dashan commented. "Congratulations on your win."

"Thank you," Ninel smiled. She picked up her towel and began drying her red-brown hair.

Dashan shifted, almost appearing what Ninel thought was nervous. She gave him a confused look. Dashan was always confident. Something was up. She hoped nothing bad had happened since the meet ended.

"Is something wrong?" the Russian-Burmese girl asked.

"Ninel… I've been thinking about this a lot, and I wanted to bring it up last night, but I knew you had a lot on your mind with this competition coming up so I didn't want to add to it. But now seems like as a good a time as ever, and I wanted to ask before it was too late. It's taken me longer than it should have to come to this conclusion, but I've realized I really like you. Ninel, will you go to prom with me?"

Ninel's hand flew up to cover her mouth, eyes wide and shining with happiness. "I- Of course I'll go to prom with you, Dashan!"

Her day was coming together more perfectly than she'd ever imagined. She fell forward to hug him, and when he leaned down to kiss her gently Ninel gladly met him.

* * *

Zina yawned as she waited for the bell to ring announcing the end of the day. She tapped her pencil repeatedly on the desk.

It was only Wednesday, but she was already wishing the week was over with. Earlier, she had attempted to talk to Chao Xin, in an attempt to wheedle more out of him regarding the mystery girl, but she hadn't had much luck. In fact, Chao Xin had practically steered the conversation in a completely different direction the moment she brought it up. She had no idea what that was about.

In better news, Mei Mei had at least convinced Chao Xin that the two of them should check out the new coffee shop that had opened down the street once school was over. Zina was going to tag along, too, so it didn't come across as suspicious. They didn't want it to look like a date; the goal was merely to remind Chao Xin that Mei Mei wasn't just another one of his fangirls. If Chao Xin really had a vested interest in whoever this other girl was, just throwing Mei Mei at him in romantic fashion wasn't going to solve that problem. They couldn't force him to like her simply because that was what they wanted.

Zina stared out the window, placing her elbow on the desk as she rested her chin on her hand. It wasn't a date, but she still kind of felt like a bit of a third wheel. She was close with both bladers, but there was real intent behind this plot. It wasn't like they were hanging out the way they usually did.

Zina tapped her pencil again. She was definitely going to need a snack soon.

After what felt like ages, the bell finally rang. Zina crammed her notebook back into her bag and left the classroom, heading straight for her locker. She'd meet Mei Mei and Chao Xin in front of the school shortly.

Zina tossed her unneeded books into her locker and slammed it shut. She turned, only to stop short. Her heart thudded wildly.

About ten feet ahead of her in the crowd was Chris. Zina bit her lip, going back and forth over the split second decision she had to make before he disappeared. It was now or never.

She started pushing her way through the crowd. "H-Hey! Chris!"

He turned around, not noticing her. Zina watched in disbelief. She was taller than average, it couldn't be _that_hard to pick her out in a crowd. She called his name again.

Chris once more spun in confusion, though his eyes lit with understanding the moment he saw her. He stepped off to the side, out of the flow of the crowd and waited for Zina to catch up.

Seconds later, Zina was by his side. She immediately got straight to the point. "Are you doing anything right now? Mei Mei, Chao Xin, and I are going to that new coffee shop. You could tag along if you wanted."

Chris looked surprised at first, but his expression quickly smoothed out. "Sure, sounds like a good time."

"It will be," Zina said assuredly. "Besides, it's been a while since we've hung out. We should catch up."

Mei Mei and Chao Xin were already waiting when the two of them located them outside the building.

"Ready to go?" Mei Mei asked with a smile.

The coffee shop was less than a mile away. Zina glanced at Chris and a devious plan popped into her mind.

"I bet I can beat you to the coffee shop," she said slyly.

"No chance," Chris replied, mildly overconfident. "I've got this hands down."

"Please," Zina said, feeling a bit cocky. "A middle school student could beat you in a race."

Chris's purple eyes locked with her brown ones. "We'll see about that." Before he was finished, he'd already taken off running.

"Hey!" Zina yelled, pushing off her right heel and flinging herself forward as she quickly caught up with him. Behind her, she could hear Mei Mei laughing.

Zina bumped into him, causing Chris to lose his balance as he stumbled. He called after her, but she was already too far ahead to hear him, taking full advantage of the opportunity.

Minutes later, Zina stopped in front of the door, taking deep breaths to slow her heart rate.

Chris begrudgingly reached her. "You cheated," he accused, a smile on his face showing he wasn't really upset with her. "That win was mine."

"I cheated?" Zina snorted. "I'm sorry, all I did was accidentally bump into you. _You're_the one who cheated. You took a head start."

Chris cocked his head. "I don't know what you're talking about. It's not my fault you weren't on the ball."

Zina was about to fire another retort when she was interrupted. "If you two lovebirds are done bickering, let's just get inside," Chao Xin commented as he and Mei Mei met up at the door.

"We're not lovebirds," Zina and Chris responded in unison. Zina peeked over to see Chris's reaction, but it remained impassive. She couldn't tell what he was thinking.

Zina pushed her way over to the counter, trying not to dwell on things she didn't know about. "Woah. Look at that menu."

On several large black chalkboards, drinks, sandwiches, bakery treats, and daily specials were written in a glittering array of colors. There were so many options it became overwhelming.

After spending a good five minutes looking over the menu, the four of them placed their orders before taking over an unoccupied table. A large line had formed at the counter. Zina was glad they'd managed to arrive so quickly. They had only just beat the rush.

"Did you guys hear Ninel and Dashan are going to prom together?" Mei Mei asked.

Zina nodded enthusiastically. "I'm so happy for them!"

Chao Zin yawned. "I think it's great. The two of them have been close for forever. My plans to go to prom with the new girl fell through."

Mei Mei and Zina perked up, their eyes locking. A faint smile crossed Mei Mei's lips, though she hid it well under a mask of concern.

"What happened?" Mei Mei asked.

Chao Xin shrugged. "She's busy that day and it turns out she's already met someone at her private school."

"So she turned you down?" Zina asked, arching an eyebrow. The though of any girl turning Chao Xin down just seemed unbelievable.

"No, I didn't even get a chance to ask her actually. The guy she likes is in the school's theater program and they have a performance the day of our prom." Chao Xin flashed a cheeky grin. "But it's not like it really matters. I'll just go single as the most eligible guy there. Girls will be falling all over me."

Zina rolled her eyes, although she knew it was true. What a lucky break that had been, though. Mei Mei was barely containing her excitement. The chances of her being able to go to prom with Chao Xin were looking better and better. Zina spun the straw from her drink in a circle.

Chris was also watching Chao Xin with mild amusement. "Only you could be that cocky."

"Am I wrong?" Chao Xin shrugged again. "What about you, Chris? Are _you_going with anyone?"

Chris stiffened. "Maybe. I'm thinking about it."

Zina looked up from the biscotti assortment they'd placed in the center of the table as Chris's comment interrupted her search for the perfect snack. Chris was thinking about going with someone? What if it was her? What if it _wasn't_her?

Before she could say anything, the door swung open, strangely drawing the attention of everyone to it.

A tall boy with dark hair covering the left side of his face entered the coffee shop. Zina followed him with interest. She recognized him as Marcos. Zina had heard of him before, but she'd never had the chance to speak with him.

Marcos strode up to the counter, the barista hanging on his every word. Zina watched intently and noticed the others looking as well.

Chao Xin had an odd look on his face. "Does anyone else get the feeling that there's more to him than he's letting on?"

"What makes you say that?" Chris asked.

"He's… charismatic, but he comes across as guarded, too. It's hard to get a read on what he's really thinking."

"We could say the same about you, Chao Xin," Mei Mei put in. "On the outside, you're 'charismatic' when it comes to the ladies, but on the inside, you're just as weird as the rest of us." Zina snickered and even Chris had trouble holding back a laugh.

Tinkling bells chimed as the door opened once more. This time, another person from their school came in: Lera. Her pink pigtails bounced as she walked.

Marcos took his order from the barista, surveying the room. Most of the tables were overflowing, with students standing next to their sitting friends as they held their drink. The single seats along the back counter were also filled up. The new shop had become quite popular with students in the short time it'd been open for business. His mouth twitched downward in a frown.

Marcos saw an empty seat, deciding it was in his best interests to meet some new people. He couldn't carry his drink and bike home at the same time.

"Is this seat taken?" He gestured to the empty seat next to Mei Mei. Mei Mei shook her head, a little confused.

"My apologies," Marcos said easily. "I did not realize how busy it would be this afternoon."

Zina wasn't sure what to think of him. Chao Xin was definitely onto something. Marcos wasn't who he appeared to be. "No problem," Zina said, keeping her voice distant. She never let herself grow close to new people too quickly.

Marcos reclined in his chair. "Have any of you been here before?"

"No," Mei Mei said, trying to be friendly. "It only opened last week, this was our first chance to visit."

Marcos nodded. "It already seems to draw a crowd."

As the others processed his comment, they were interrupted a second time.

Lera was standing next to them, looking a bit awkward. She held a sandwich in her hands. "Is it okay if I sit here? Or I could take the chair and sit somewhere else if you'd prefer. This is pretty much the only spot left."

"You can sit here," Chao Xin nodded. It wasn't like the four of them had been looking for privacy in the first place. They should've known the coffee shop was going to be packed right after the last bell freed them.

As soon as Lera sat down, another group of girls walked past them disappointed. It seemed as though they'd been trying to get close to Chao Xin, hoping to snag that last seat. Marcos made a mental note of the sway the other boy appeared to have over the girls. One never knew when something like that could come in handy.

Lera's statement had been correct. As more and more people received their orders, they were forced to stand off to the side and wait for tables to clear if they didn't intend on leaving right away. The baristas were overwhelmed with the massive increase in customers; it had likely been slow for them the past few hours. Marcos had to wonder if the number of people crowding the shop posed a fire hazard.

"So what do you guys think of the prom theme?" Mei Mei asked, a little tentative. Marcos realized the question was probably directed at him and Lera, seeing as they were the ones who had been the party crashers. It made sense for her to bring up the easiest conversational topic in hopes of chasing away any lingering discomfort.

Lera's eyes lit up. "I love it!" She exclaimed. "Galaxy sounds so much fun. I really want to be an astronaut someday. I hope if they try to make constellations or anything out of decorations they do it accurately." Marcos listened closely.

He couldn't quite pin down why, but he was quite interested in Lera at the moment. He hadn't seen much of her since that day she'd bumped into him in the hallway, but he still thought about her from time to time. He supposed it was because he didn't know enough about her the way he did a large portion of the other students.

"I agree," Zina put in. "I hope the decorating committee does a good job."

"They better," Marcos added dryly. "They've really raised the hopes of everyone with this theme. It's unlike anything the school has done in the past."

"It's going to be a great time," Lera said confidently. "Prom is supposed to be one of the highlights of your high school career. There are students on the decorating and planning committees who have been dreaming about this for years. They won't let us down."

Marcos considered her optimistic perspective. Lera may have been convinced everything would go off without a hitch, but there were far too many factors unaccounted for for Marcos to feel the same way. The decorations, music, and food might be predictable, but as far as the rest event was concerned, anything could happen.

He listened carefully as the others chatted excitedly about the theme, adding their own opinions, taking it all in.

* * *

Gin was walking along one of the trails behind her neighborhood, taking in the warm weather. The days had finally become warmer and the rain from earlier in the week had stopped. Springtime had really started now.

Along the path, brightly colored flowers were beginning to bloom. Teeny strands of green grass stretched up towards the sky, no longer hindered by snow and cold weather. She couldn't have picked a better day for a walk.

Birds were chirping, but not loudly or frequently enough to bother her. She was so glad she taken the opportunity to head out into the wild and clear her head. The move had worked out better than she expected. She loved having so much nature surrounding her.

There was a lake that ran parallel to the trail. She had yet to check it out, but maybe today would be the day. Gin could see the blue water shining up ahead in the distance through the trees.

As she drew closer to it, she noticed something strange. She thought she saw a person, but she couldn't be certain. The trees obstructed her view. She moved in closer.

Gin did a double take. There was definitely someone sitting by the lake. She stepped off the trail towards the water, using the foliage to hide herself.

She didn't know why she was so cautious, but whoever it was, they had taken care so that they wouldn't be seen. From most angles, they would have been completely obscured from view. If Gin hadn't looked so closely, she never would've noticed them as they sat up against the rocks by the water's edge surrounded by trees.

Gin nearly gasped, but refrained from making the sudden noise. She immediately recognized that person. She stepped from the woods, pushing aside branches to announce herself.

Before she had a chance, a dull, tired voice called out, "I know you're there. Show yourself."

Kyoya turned, his eyes suddenly widening when he realized it was Gin. He visibly returned to a relaxed state.

Something was off. Kyoya's normally bright blue eyes looked empty and vacant.

"Is everything okay?" Gin asked.

Kyoya stared out across the lake. "We broke up," he said after a several beats of silence.

It was hard to cover up her surprise. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that," Gin said, and found that she genuinely meant it. Sure, she did have a crush on him and he was single now, but he was obviously hurting from the breakup. Just because the girlfriend was out of the picture didn't mean Gin would automatically swoop in and things would be perfect between them. Seeing him in pain hurt her, too. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Go ahead." Kyoya gestured to the ground next to him.

Gin eased herself to down to the earth and stretched her legs out in front of her. "Are you okay?" It seemed like the only thing she could ask without overstepping any boundaries.

"Yeah," Kyoya exhaled. "We both knew this was coming, but it's just… weird. Things hadn't been working between us for a while, but now that it's really over with everything feels surreal."

Gin pulled her legs into her chest, taking in the pretty sight of sunlight reflecting off the sparkling blue lake. "I get that. It's never easy, even if it's for the best."

Kyoya didn't have a response to that. They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Gin wanted to say something, but she wasn't sure what more she could really say. It wasn't like she could fix the situation. With breakups, time was required more than anything. Kyoya was strong; Gin knew he would be fine, but she also understood why he had taken to coming to such a secluded area. If he'd known this was coming, he'd probably already been mentally preparing for it. This was the best place to clear his head.

Briefly, she considered leaving, but decided the best thing she could do was stick around, allowing her presence to convey that she was there for him if he needed anything. She hoped he appreciated it, that she wasn't bothering him.

She wasn't sure how much longer they sat there, listening to the soft waves lap up against the rocky sands in front of them. She stared ahead focusing on the blue water, the occasional fish jumping out. Up above them, fluffy white clouds moved lazily across the bright blue sky.

Gin took advantage of the peaceful quiet to let her own mind wander, taking in the world around her.

Kyoya stood up. "I should get going. Thanks, Gin. I'll see you around." As he turned to face the woods in search of the trail, he laughed suddenly.

"What?" Gin stood up as well, curious. The sound was so unexpected.

"I just realized- I don't have to go to prom anymore." With that, Kyoya ran off into the trees and out of sight.

Of course he would see it that way. Gin shook her head, wondering what would happen now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Apologies in advance for any mistakes, I didn't really have a chance to edit this as much as I would have liked; it's either post this now or wait until sometime during the middle of next week when I have the ability to work on this, which I don't particularly want to do. Anyway, next chapter I will do my best to incorporate all the OCs, since it is the last one before the prom segment begins! So because of that, it might take me a little while to get it out since that'll be a long one. Thank you SailorCandy, GinMado, and Moonshine Orchids for your reviews :D**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

Aurora fastened her raven cloak, pulling the hood over her head as she cursed her bad luck. She stepped out the door, hiding under the overhang that extended past the exit doors located on the right side of the school. Aurora much preferred using side doors to the main ones seeing as they hardly saw any traffic at all. Today was no different. She'd noticed one person ahead of her, but by the time she pushed open the doors, they were already gone.

Large, heavy rain droplets fell at a steady pace onto the pavement. Her cloak wasn't nearly enough to combat so much precipitation. She normally wore it when she was going out in public or late at night. It wasn't designed to work as a raincoat.

Aurora paused, using the overhang for cover knowing she couldn't stay there forever. She wished she'd thought to check the weather before leaving the house this morning, but she couldn't change what was already done. Aurora sighed. The moment the rain let up, even a little bit, she'd have to take her chances. One way or another, she was getting soaked. There was no avoiding it.

She should've left when the bell rang, rather than lingering behind in the library for a while. Sophie had offered to give her a ride, one Aurora declined. Looking back, she really should have taken her up on it. Her research project could've waited.

She stood there for five minutes, waiting for the veil of water to slow.

The day had already passed in agonizing fashion and she wanted more than anything for it to be done and over with.

"Aurora?"

She bit back a yelp to hide her surprise and turned with a start. To the left, she saw a figure drawing closer through the pounding water.

She could hide the smile that pulled up at the corners of her mouth. Aurora immediately recognized the tanned Egyptian walking toward her in the misty rain.

"Nile," Aurora responded pleasantly, hoping the sounds of the rain covered the rapid beating of her heart. "What are you still doing here?"

"I forgot a textbook," Nile grimaced. "I was halfway home when I realized it. The assignment's due tomorrow."

"Oh," Aurora nodded. She then realized he was holding a clear plastic umbrella. He looked fairly dry, considering the circumstances. Fortunately, there didn't appear to be much wind along with the rain.

Nile followed her gaze. "What are you still doing here?"

"I was working, but I didn't know it was raining. I'm waiting for it to let up a little," Aurora admitted sheepishly.

Aurora could feel herself relaxing as they talked. Ever since that first conversation in literature, he'd always greeted her each time she arrived in class, fast turning it into one of the highlights of her day. She hadn't yet mentioned him to Sophie, though. Aurora wasn't fully sure of how she felt about Nile just yet even if she had a pretty good idea. If she voiced those feelings to her best friend, Sophie would be on her about prom. Aurora wasn't sure if she was ready to take that step. For the moment, she was content with her simple new friendship.

Aurora struggled enough with letting new people in as it was. The fact that she and Nile now had any sort of relationship between them was more than surprising. She didn't want to fall head over heels for everything to backfire on her.

Nile's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Aurora shook her head. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted to walk home with me, since you don't seem prepared for the rain."

"Oh!" Aurora's cheeks blushed a light pink. "That sounds wonderful, thank you."

Nile stepped closer to the doorway, holding out the umbrella slightly. Aurora delicately stepped out onto the pavement, ducking her head underneath the umbrella. She became aware of her close proximity to Nile, and swallowed hard.

As they left the school behind them, Aurora struggled to relax. The umbrella covered the two of them well. She was so grateful he'd shown up. The rain hadn't slowed in the least.

"Did you read the chapters for class?" Nile asked.

Aurora nodded, glad he'd been the one to start the conversation. "Mmhm. I did. They aren't that long."

"That's good," Nile commented. "I haven't had a chance to look at them."

"There wasn't that much too them. I don't think you'll have a problem if you forget." Aurora directed him to turn onto the next street after they passed the new coffee shop.

"Sounds good. I've been wondering- I don't really know you much outside of class, but what do you for fun?"

Aurora blinked, surprised the exchange had turned to her personal life. They normally kept to easy topics, like school. "I love music, and I'm into ice skating as well."

"Cool. Do you play any instruments or are you a singer?"

"Both. I sing and I can play piano, violin, harp, and guitar."

Nile whistled. "Wow, that's impressive."

Aurora suddenly felt uneasy. "Well, I'm not that good. I'm far from perfect. Anyway, what about you? What are you into?"

Nile raised an eyebrow. He clearly didn't believe what she'd said about her talent as a musician. There was always plenty of room for improvement. Aurora knew she was a skilled musician, but she could never quite bring herself to believe she was good _enough_. He let the topic slide regardless. "Bey battles are my thing. There's really not that much to say."

This time it was Aurora's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I doubt that. What kind of bey do you use?"

The entire time, Aurora's tenseness had gradually faded away. As Nile told her about Horuseus, what was left of it disappeared entirely. She was so engrossed in what he had to say, she barely even noticed the change.

They turned onto her street.

"Here we are," Aurora said, wishing they'd walked slower. She and Nile made it to the door. "Thank you very much, Nile. You didn't have to do this."

Nile gave her a small smile. "I don't mind."

Aurora turned to hide her blush, unlocking the door to her house. When she spun back around, Nile had already headed back to the driveway.

"I'll see you soon!" he called. Aurora waved, shutting the door behind her as she stepped inside.

Aurora watched him go from the window, listening to the soft pitter-patter of the rain. Sooner or later, she was going to have to come to terms with whether or not this was something she really wanted. She understood growing closer to would leave her emotionally vulnerable, and she wasn't sure she was ready to accept that.

Nile was cute, and she'd connected with him faster than she did with most people who managed to break through her barriers. Nile hadn't even known they were there, but he'd been able to walk right through.

Could she really let him in? Did she want to? He clearly liked her as a friend, after all he'd been willing to walk her home in the downpour; she didn't even know how far away he lived. Aurora was certain the two of them had the potential to be good friends at the very least. What she didn't know was if they could be something more.

Of course for that to happen, she would truly have to leave herself open. Still, she wasn't about to put herself out there knowing it was risky. Aurora wouldn't act first. Nile might not even like her that way. He barely knew her. The possibilities played over and over in her head. She was probably stressing over nothing.

Aurora sat down in the nearest chair, watching the raindrops slip from the sky. Before she made any big decisions, there was one thing she needed to do.

* * *

Stella was painting a glitter overcoat on her fingernails when the grapefruit-sized rock went flying through her open window, landing with a crash on the floor. She shrieked, nearly knocking over the bottle of nail polish in the process.

She screwed the top back on, equal parts confused, scared, and angry. Collecting herself, she took a deep breath and walked over to the window.

She looked around, trying to find the source of the rock. It was starting to get dark out, hindering her eyesight. Her house was surrounded by trees, but she couldn't see anyone hiding in them though she couldn't understand why anyone would be there in the first place. She looked down.

Stella blinked three times to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

For whatever reason, King was there in the twilight, frantically searching the ground for something. He straightened up a second later, holding another rock with a triumphant grin.

Stella's eyes widened as she realized what he was about to do. She narrowly avoided being hit by the second rock as it zoomed through the air toward her. She ducked, just as it passed through the window and landed with a thud on the floor of her room.

She stood up, frustrated, and peered out the window once more. King was hunting down another rock.

"King!" she yelled, wishing she'd been able to stop him before the second rock was launched. "What are you doing?"

He popped up, looking excited. Stella wasn't sure she wanted to hear his explanation.

"Stella!" he called. "Come down here! Or I could go up there with you!"

Stella groaned, first thanking the powers that be her window had been open. Earlier, she had opened it up to let the smell of acetone dissipate when she used nail polish remover and hadn't bothered to close it since. She could only imagine the mess of glass that would've littered her room had she not taken those steps.

She paused, wondering what the best course of action was to deal with King. After the rain the past few days, it was still pretty chilly in the evening. She wasn't looking forward to going outside and standing out in the cold air. Alternatively, bringing King up to her room so late wasn't exactly a good idea either. Her dad would be back any minute, and her mom was downstairs. She would not approve of an unexpected guest at this hour, especially one that had been throwing rocks at the windows mere moments ago. Honestly, Stella was surprised her mom hadn't picked up on that.

There was one surefire way she could sneak him into her room without her parents knowing, but Stella was reluctant to do so. King wasn't known for being particularly quiet, though she was certain he could be if he needed to. She debated asking him if it could wait until school tomorrow, but her curiosity was already piqued.

"One second!" She called to King. Stella looked around her room wildly. As always, it was a chaotic mess. She shoved a pile of discarded clothes into the closet and straightened up the pile of textbooks on the floor. That would have to do. She highly doubted King was there to critique the cleanliness of her bedroom anyway. His probably wasn't much better.

More pressing, she felt her nerves flutter. It had been so long since she'd sneaked out through the window. The tree that grew right near the house wasn't that old. She was pretty sure it could still hold weight.

Stella stepped onto the windowsill, then slithered over onto the closest branch. Gripping the tree tightly, she started moving toward the trunk.

"Can you climb?"

King laughed. "Of course! Who do you think I am?" Nimbly, he grabbed one of the branches and propelled himself upward. Moments later, King was sitting beside her on another branch. Stella marveled at how quickly he'd been able to get up there when it had taken her months to properly figure out how to navigate the twisting limbs without getting bruised.

Sitting nestled in the tree as the sun dipped below the horizon was comforting. Above them, stars began to peek out in the night sky.

"We could stay here," King offered, echoing her thoughts.

Stella shook her head. "No, that's okay. It's better if we're inside. I don't know how much weight these branches can really hold. I'd rather they not collapse on us."

King looked down. "Yeah, that would be quite the drop."

Stella led the way, easing back into her room as her feet caught the edge of the window. King was right on her heels.

"We have to be quiet," Stella whispered. "My mom is downstairs and if she hears anything, we're dead."

King nodded, more serious than Stella had seen him before. He walked around, taking the room in. Stella found herself self-conscious once more. She'd cleaned up most of the mess, but that was suddenly the least of her worries. She hoped he wouldn't find the way she'd decorated stupid or childish. Posters littered the wall and a fluffy lime green bean bag chair was in the corner, but she felt her room was fairly typical for a girl her age.

"So… Can I ask why you were throwing rocks at my window?" Stella asked, still hoping he wasn't judging her interior decorating skills.

King shrugged. "Masamune said it would get your attention."

"Well he was right about that," Stella commented dryly. "Wait, you have my phone number. You could've just texted me." _Or come to the front door._

"Yeah, but this is much more personal."

Stella decided not to look into the meaning of that. "What would you have done if my window was closed?"

"The rocks would've just bounced off. The noise would've gotten your attention."

Stella's eyes widened. "As if! Those rocks were huge! You absolutely would have shattered the glass."

"Hey, the point is my plan worked and now we're up here together. So-" King paused.

Footsteps echoed through the hallway. King's blue eyes met her green ones in a panic.

"Hide!" Stella hissed. She opened up her closet and pushed King inside, not giving him a chance to protest. He fell into the pile of clothes she'd thrown in there earlier.

Stella shut the closet just as there was a knock on the door. Stella rushed over the door, took a breath to steady herself, then opened it with a beaming smile. "Hi, Mom."

Her mom peered in. "What are you doing up here? I thought I heard yelling."

Stella waved her hand. "Oh, I'm just doing homework. You know how math is. I got stuck on this really tough problem and it's so frustrating."

Her mom nodded. "Okay." She looked around the room, "You may want to close your window. I think it's supposed to rain again soon." Her mom eyed the two large rocks on the floor, but said nothing. With that, she turned toward the hall and Stella shut the door tight behind her.

Stella opened the closet to find King sprawled out uncomfortably. It seemed he'd tried to move to a seated position, but the small space hadn't allowed for it. The two locked eyes and they burst out giggling.

Stella offered King her hand and pulled him out. "Again, what is so important you decided to vandalize my house?"

King puffed up his chest. "I told you, those rocks wouldn't have caused any damage." He relaxed. "Actually, I should get going. I heard your mom; if it's gonna rain, I do not wanna be caught in that."

King swiftly hopped over to the window, and reached out for the branches. Before Stella comprehended what was happening, he was already halfway down the trunk.

"Hey!" She yelled. "You can't just leave me hanging like this! What did you want to talk about?"

King waved to her, but said nothing more as he disappeared in the growing darkness of the night.

* * *

Mei Mei was enjoying a walk in the brisk spring air when she caught a glimpse of someone familiar in the new coffee shop.

Chao Xin was sitting alone at the table nearest the window, looking pensive. Without thinking, Mei Mei rerouted herself and headed inside. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had some one-on-one time with Chao Xin. She was still painfully attracted to him, but her surprise at seeing him alone drew her in more than her crush.

Mei Mei walked up to the counter and ordered a drink. A few minutes later, she accompanied Chao Xin at his table. He didn't seem to mind her unexpected intrusion. He still seemed lost in thought.

"Everything okay?" Mei Mei asked.

Chao Xin snapped to attention. "Yeah. I've just got a lot on my mind. Most of it comes back to the same thing."

A beat passed between them before Mei Mei decided to speak. "You want to talk about it?"

Chao Xin shook his head. "It's prom. Nothing special."

Mei Mei was flooded with understanding. Prom was constantly on her mind, too. There were so many things to be done, yet nothing stopped time from continuing to trickle away. Mei Mei suspected one of his problems was the same one she was wrestling with: finding a date.

Chao Xin didn't appear to be in any condition for her to be asking about the potential for them to go together. Mei Mei had no clue how to broach that subject. Just thinking about it made her antsy. As far as she could tell, her crush was completely unrequited. She pushed the thought out of her mind. There would be time for that later. Something was definitely up.

"I'm sure everything will work out fine. It's only one night," Mei Mei pointed out. "And it's supposed to be fun. We aren't supposed to stress out about it so much." Mei Mei added that last part for her sake more than his.

"Yeah, well it looks like I'll be going dateless this time around," Chao Xin rolled his eyes. "Not that that's the end of the world."

"The girl told you she had plans before you could even ask her, right? That's a good thing; it's not like she had the opportunity to turn you down. Personally, I think it's better that way," Mei Mei encouraged. She felt a tinge of regret, knowing there was so little time left until prom and she still had no way of convincing Chao Xin he should go with her. At this point, all she could do was support him. Disappointing as it was, deep down she was okay with that.

Chao Xin spoke quietly. Mei Mei couldn't understand a word he was saying.

"What was that?"

Chao Xin cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. "She did."

"She di- what?" Mei Mei's eyes widened in total shock. "You're kidding." She had to have heard wrong.

"Would I joke about this?" Chao Xin's response was dark. "She turned me down."

"I just-" Mei Mei desperately tried to think of something to say, something that wouldn't come across as insulting, but she drew a blank. It seemed like the impossible had happened, as though a constant in the world had been thrown out of balance. Girls simply did not turn down Chao Xin. They fawned over him like he was the world. "That's not what I meant."

Chao Xin made a noise somewhere between a groan and a sigh. "I'm sorry. It's been hard for me to come to terms with. I'm so used to girls just coming to me, that I never thought her saying no was even a possibility. I guess we all need a reality check to slap us in the face sometimes."

Mei Mei nodded. She picked up momentum, feeling confident in her answer. The awkwardness was beginning to fade. "At least now you know what it feels like. If it happens again, the rejection won't sting so bad."

Chao Xin shrugged. "Maybe. It's not so much painful that she turned me down, since I barely knew her anyway, but more humiliating than anything. I went in there with complete confidence and got the opposite of what I was expecting. I couldn't admit that to anyone last time we were here, so I just told everyone part of what she told me- that she had plans and couldn't go. It would've been way too embarrassing to give the full story, to let them know she couldn't see me as more than a friend. I've never been on that side before."

Mei Mei softly rested her hand on top of Chao Xin's. "It's tough when your ego takes a blow like that. Bouncing back isn't easy."

"I'll say." Chao Xin looked down.

"But," Mei Mei tried to add a positive spin. "Now you have an experience you can grow from. One rejection is nothing. You just have to take that negativity and use it to motivate you."

Chao Xin whipped his head up, a wicked grin on his face. "I think you're onto something there, Mei Mei. If there's a girl out there capable of turning me down, I'm clearly not trying hard enough."

Mei Mei laughed. "I wouldn't say that. You've got plenty of options out there."

Chao Xin gave her a smoldering glance that nearly caused her to melt on the spot. Mei Mei's heart starting beating faster as she willed herself to calm down. The sun glinted off his shining red-brown hair. "We'll have to see if can find the right one."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi all! This chapter is extra long, but I think I got all the page breaks in the right spot, lol. Thank you to rokebuto, GinMado, SailorCandy, and Moonshine Orchids for your reviews! PROM STARTS NEXT CHAPTER GET READY**

**Anyway, some exciting news! A new character is introduced this chapter :D Also, _starting next chapter_, I will begin accepting votes for Prom King and Prom Queen! This is not meant to be a popularity contest, btw I just thought it would be fun. All votes must be sent to me via PM for them to count and you cannot vote for your own character. That being said, you can vote for ANY of the eleven pairings in the story. We've seen most of them in action by this point. So start thinking about which characters you'd like to win!**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

Prom was just over a week away.

Hikaru groaned. The frenzied last minute panic was fast becoming overwhelming.

Every day of school brought new chaos. Girls frantically worried about whether they had bought the right dress, if the alterations would be done in time, and their hair appointments. The best hairdressers had been snatched up the week prom was announced, booked solid.

Hikaru could barely stand it. Admittedly, she _was_excited for prom, not that she planned on letting Sophie know and giving her the satisfaction, but this was overkill.

If it wasn't the dress that was being fretted over, it was the dates. Hikaru was more than content to go alone. She didn't want the added stress of having to factor in another person with her plans.

Even so, Hikaru doubted the person she was interested in would even go to prom. It wasn't his scene.

Hikaru walked down the hallway, passing another enormous sign that had been used for a promposal. Those were getting out of hand, too. There was at least one every day, but none had managed to reach the scale of Gingka's. Either no one thought they could top it, or no one was foolish enough to try. Hikaru suspected the latter.

In fairness, Gingka had pulled out all the stops. Jumping off the roof was absolutely insane. Hikaru still didn't understand why he had gone to that extreme in the first place. Doing anything beyond that just wouldn't be worth the risk. It was a miracle Gingka had made it out unscathed.

Ryuga's comment from that afternoon echoed in her head. Hikaru struggled to keep from laughing out. She shut her locker, a silly grin on her face as she turned to walk down the hall.

_Speak of the devil_. Ryuga was walking past her, gaze above the rest of his classmates. It was no secret how he regarded others. His bad boy reputation preceded him one hundred percent.

_Do not let yourself be lured in by that_, Hikaru thought to herself. Ryuga was nothing more than trouble. Or at least that was what she'd heard. Ryuga preferred not to interact with most of the students, with Gingka and his friends being a slight exception. Most of her knowledge about Ryuga came from the school's gossip mill, not exactly the most reliable source of information.

Hikaru watched him go, her eyes never leaving his back as she stood at her locker. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Ryuga than anyone knew.

She shoved the thought to the recesses of her mind as she made her way to class, but deep as it was buried the urge to find out more about the white-haired blader simply would not leave her alone.

* * *

"Aurora!"

The girl in question sighed. She should have known bringing her best friend into this was going to be trouble. The two of them stood outside the front of the school where many of the students gathered in the morning before classes, enjoying the warm spring air.

"It's not a big deal," she tried to backpedal. "Really, Sophie, I'm not even sure I like him. It's nothing to get excited over."

"Don't downplay this," Sophie responded, exasperated. "Between you and Hikaru, trying to sort everything out for prom is going to drive me absolutely mad! You said earlier that you thought you liked Nile."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I want to ask him to prom," Aurora countered. She wasn't about to let Sophie coerce her into anything yet.

Sophie rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying. He'd have to be absolutely stupid to turn _you_down. And I'm not even saying that as your best friend. You're completely gorgeous, Aurora. Any guy would be lucky to go to prom with you."

"I don't know about that," Aurora murmured.

Sophie ignored the comment. "Fine. I'm not going to make you ask him if you don't want to. But I don't want you to miss your chance, either. This is something you have to figure out for you before it's too late."

Aurora looked at Sophie pleadingly as she tried to organize the flurry of thoughts in her head. Putting herself and her interests first was not something she was used to. Aurora knew Sophie had a point, but this was too much.

Sophie's face softened. "I know it's hard to let new people in. It sounds like whatever you and Nile have right now could be- _is_something. I think if you let him in, something wonderful could happen."

Sophie was probably right, Aurora mused. She usually was. "I do like Nile," Aurora decided. Saying the words with confidence felt funny. She thought it was best to add a caveat. "I like him, _but_I don't think jumping into this right away because it's prom is a good idea. I don't want to ruin things by moving too fast. I want to see where this goes first."

Sophie nodded. "Fair enough."

Ninel came up to them, her arm linked with Dashan's. Ninel was positively glowing. They'd been on two dates since he'd asked her to prom; she couldn't believe how long it had taken them to get together, those nights had gone so well. All those evenings spent doing math homework and they never even realized their crushes were mutual.

This weekend, they were planning on going on a quick shopping trip to try and match Dashan's suit to her dress in whatever way possible. It was a bit last minute for sure, but they'd already tried finding a matching tie and it was proving more difficult that expected. Regardless, Ninel was confident she and Dashan would manage to work it all out in the end.

Dashan whispered into her ear as he separated himself from Ninel. Ninel nodded, giving him a kiss as he departed.

"Sophie, do you have a moment?" Ninel asked.

"Sure," Sophie brightened. "What's up?"

"Are all preparations set for the limo? I just wanted to confirm."

"Of course!" Sophie answered enthusiastically. "Everyone's given me their payments, so we're good to go."

Ninel glanced over at the silver-haired girl. "You're coming with us as well, correct?"

Aurora peered up at her shyly. "Yes, I'll be there. No date, though. Just me."

Sophie rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, but she wasn't about to push Aurora around. If Aurora didn't think she was ready for a relationship yet, that was good enough for Sophie. In the end, she always respected her friends' decisions.

"You don't need a date to have a good time, anyway," Ninel encouraged. "We'll all be there, too."

"Right," Aurora confirmed. She reflected, "I remember how much fun we all had dress shopping."

"And this is going to be even better than that!" Sophie squealed. "Oh, speaking of-" Wales was walking up to her. Sophie greeted him with a kiss.

Aurora was suddenly quite grateful Ninel had joined them. She didn't necessarily feel like a third wheel when Sophie and Wales were together, but part of her did yearn for something more. That feeling was what made her think about Nile more than she typically would have. Even if she was unsure about it, it was fun to think about what could be. She and Sophie could go on double dates with their boyfriends.

Ninel grinned. "That was a great time. Although, trying to match my dress to Dashan is proving easier said than done." A thought flitted through her head as she recalled all the accessories she would be wearing. She'd have to look into that.

Sophie looked over at Wales. "That took us a while, too but luckily the tux shop had a ton of color options and we were able to find something that was essentially the same."

"I haven't given up hope. I know we can do this," Ninel responded cheerfully. "Are we taking pictures beforehand?"

Sophie smiled sharply as she handed her backpack to Wales and began rummaging through it. She whipped out a small notepad. "Yeah. I've got it all figured out here, don't worry. Everything should be perfect."

Aurora leaned over to look at the notepad, but Sophie held it high above her where the shorter girl couldn't reach it. "Hey!"

Sophie snickered. "Sorry, but no one gets to see this except me."

"I haven't even been allowed to see it," Wales put in.

Ninel watched, amused. "Then I guess it must be serious." She was glad Sophie had taken the time to make sure everything was organized.

Normally, Ninel would have done the same to confirm things were exactly how she wanted them, but between swim practice for regionals, which was even more grueling than her regular practices, and her newfound relationship with Dashan, Ninel found herself stretched thinner than ever as she worked toward her goals. She trusted Sophie and was sure the other girl would not let anyone down with what she had planned.

Wales promptly reminded Sophie know there were only a few more minutes until the bell rang, and both of them needed to stop at their lockers. Aurora set off on her own gracefully while Sophie and Wales walked arm-in-arm.

Ninel breathed a sigh of contentment. In just over a week, all this would be over and everything could go back to relative normal. She just needed to survive the rest of the madness and with Dashan by her side, she was confident prom would be a breeze.

Ninel's eyes were suddenly drawn over to a large crowd that had grown out of nowhere. Her eyebrows knit in confusion as she realized who it was all the students were surrounding. Why were all those people pushing each other out of the way to talk to Marcos Kategawa?

Marcos was handling the sudden onset of people coming up to him while. On the inside, he was quite annoyed, but he kept a friendly façade plastered on his face. Some one had started a rumor he had answers to an upcoming test, and people kept harassing him about it. He didn't know who had done it, but once he figured out who was behind all this, he would make sure they knew never to cross him again.

Marcos carefully worded his questions as he informed the others he in fact did not have the answers they sought, trying to figure out where the stupid rumor had originated. He needed to get as many details as possible from them before people realized the truth and lost interest.

Marcos shook off the last of the people hanging on him, and began walking down the halls at a quick pace. He couldn't stand all the irritants. Marcos swerved down the science wing, usually fairly empty at this time of day.

"Oh!" Marcos became aware of someone bumping into him. Books clattered to the floor.

Marcos turned, ready to be annoyed once more, but surprisingly found himself amused.

Lera was on the ground, putting her class materials back into her bag. Marcos bent down to help her.

"We need to stop meeting like this," he joked.

Lera blushed a pale pink. "Sorry. I really need to start paying better attention."

Marcos hadn't seen Lera since the day at the coffee shop. "So you're hoping to be an astronaut?" He recalled her comments as he handed her the last folder on the ground.

"Yeah," Lera nodded vigorously. "I'm taking as many physical science courses as I can this year. I want to be prepared when I start applying to schools. I need to show them I'm serious, you know?"

Marcos began walking with her. He had no idea where she was going, and frankly, he didn't really care. "Of course."

Lera started talking about space programs and different universities she was looking at. Marcos liked her drive and passion. She was unlike many of the other girls at the school, particularly the ones who desperately hung all over Chao Xin as though he were some kind of superstar. Lera was quite the intellectual.

"Anyway, I'm still getting everything sorted out," Lera concluded. "My friends Aleksei and Nowaguma are hoping to go to space one day, too. It's great that we all share the same dream; it works really well as motivation. Some day, the three of us will all be in space staring back at Earth."

Marcos nodded. "I'm sure you'll get there. You seem plenty determined."

"Yeah!" Lera concurred. "Thanks for listening to me, Marcos. Some people think it's kind of silly, having such a big goal while I'm in high school, but I know I can do it. Just because they don't take me seriously it doesn't mean I have to give up on what I really want."

"Naturally. You should do what's best for you."

Marcos accompanied her the rest of the way to her destination, the library, at which point he excused himself to head over to his own class. He didn't notice that Lera watched him go.

She stayed in his mind though as he sat down in his seat thinking about the strange and intriguing way her pigtails seemed to bounce up and down in accordance with her emotions.

* * *

"I'm stuck. I don't know what to do," Stella sighed. She and Gin sat down at the lunch table Gin normally shared with Madoka, Gingka, Kyoya, and whoever else happened to be sitting there that day. At the moment, it was empty.

"Have you tried talking with him?" Gin asked.

"Of course. But he hasn't answered any of my texts, and he's skipped lunch the last few days. He skipped our chemistry class together, too," Stella slumped down, pulling an apple out of her bag. "I don't know what happened. I've tried to talk to Masamune, but he just gives me answers that make zero sense. He's covering up for him, I'm sure of it."

Gin sympathized with the brown and green haired girl. It _was_a bizarre situation. Now she and Stella had found themselves in similar places as prom drew ever closer. "He can't avoid you forever, right?"

Stella groaned, taking a bite of the apple. "It's just so weird. I mean, who throws rocks at a window, crawls into that person's bedroom by climbing a tree, and then leaves without saying anything?"

Gin shrugged. "Maybe he's nervous. It _sounds_like he's interested in you. He might be trying to get his courage together."

Stella sighed again. "See, that's the answer I want, but that doesn't mean it's the right one." She took another bite of her apple. "Enough about me. How are things with you going?" She didn't need to clarify. When Stella had first come to her about the problem she was having with King, Gin had come clean about having a crush on Kyoya, too. She didn't see the harm in telling just one person, and if Stella was trusting Gin with her secrets, then Gin felt she could do the same.

"He said he's not going to prom. It's not like I can change that," Gin responded, her voice a little sad. "He still has a ticket, but he seemed so relieved when he realized he didn't have to go after they broke up."

"Do you think you have a chance of convincing him otherwise? Even if you guys don't go as a couple."

"I doubt it," Gin shook her head. "I'm pretty sure the only reason he was going in the first place was because of his ex. Prom doesn't seem like his kind of thing."

"There's still a little time left," Stella responded thoughtfully. "Who knows? Something could work out."

"I suppose." Gin saw Madoka and Gingka approaching them. She lowered her voice. "If you really want to figure out what's going on with King, I think your best approach might be to corner him. Meet him at his locker, somewhere he can't ignore you."

Stella's eyes lit up. "Good idea. I'll leave a few minutes before lunch ends and beat him there." She took out the rest of her lunch and began speed eating.

"Hi, guys," Stella and Gin chorused as the new couple sat down. Kyoya joined the group a few minutes later and Stella gave Gin a meaningful look.

Gin resisted the urge to roll her eyes, though she was smiling. She'd have more luck attempting to finish her homework for the rest of the year in a week than with convincing Kyoya he needed to attend prom.

Gin stared down at the food in front of her. Truthfully, she hadn't spoken to Kyoya much since that day at the lake. She did her best to sneak in conversations when she could, catching him at his locker from time to time or on the way to class. She'd even gone back to the lake, hoping he might be there, but no such luck.

"Hey, Gin," Kyoya grinned. "I'm surprised you aren't working on next week's homework."

Her mind flashed back to that time in the library. "Please, I had it done last month," she joked.

Gingka inhaled his food. "Can you guys believe prom is next week? How are we even gonna get there?" He asked between mouthfuls.

Madoka shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. "Don't worry, Gingka, I've got that all planned out. We have a limo lined up."

"A limo? That's awesome!" Gingka's eyes lit up. "Is it one of the ones that has disco lights?"

"Probably," Madoka answered. She turned her attention to the girls. "If either of you want to join, there's still room left."

Stella nodded. "Sounds good to me," Gin responded. She hadn't even considered how she was planning on getting to the prom yet.

"The offer's open to you as well, Kyoya, if you change your mind about going."

Gin's eyes immediately swiveled over to him. She held her breath.

"Thanks, but I'm still not going. I've got better things to do with my time."

"What!" Gingka said indignantly. "After all that time we spent shopping together? Kyoya, you have to come!"

Gin saw her chance. "It could be fun," she put in. "The food is supposed to be pretty good and I've heard there might be an ice cream bar for dessert."

Kyoya's glance flickered over in her direction. For a brief second, she thought he might be persuaded to change his mind. Then the look in his eyes was gone as he shook his head.

"Nah," Kyoya decided, sounding as though he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. "Prom is overrated. I don't need the drama that comes with it."

Gingka took the reins, arguing with Kyoya as he insisted prom would be worth his while, that they would have plenty to eat and could even bring their beys along. Gin shuddered at the thought of two beys tearing through a fancy venue with the potential to wreck everything and rack up a hefty bill, but the more she thought about it, the better it sounded. It would definitely liven things up.

"Prom's going to be a great time," Gin said in a firm, confident tone. "Sure, maybe it's a little overdone, but you're only in high school once. Personally, I can't wait."

Madoka nodded in assent. "It doesn't matter if you have a date or not. We should just focus on having a good time. Gin is right."

Stella glanced up at the clock. "Whoa! It's later than I thought. I've got to get going, I'll see you guys later!" She quickly gathered up her things and dumped her trash in the garbage.

Stella rushed down the empty halls, walking as fast as she dared. King's locker was down the next hall. She tucked herself behind a row of lockers once she got there. If King noticed her too early, he might run off and then she'd never catch him. It was time to figure out what was going on once and for all.

The bell signaling an end to lunch rang. Any minute now, King would hopefully be stopping by.

Stella nearly laughed. She was garnering several strange looks from people staring at her as she stayed crouched down where she hoped King wouldn't notice her.

Then, she saw him coming. Stella picked out his dark blue hair from the growing crowd as he drew closer. Any minute now, she'd make her move.

She tried to ignore the thud of her heart. King had been purposefully going out of his way to avoid her these last few days. If he was treating her this way with no explanation, maybe she should rethink her crush. It didn't even matter she had a crush on him anyway- they were supposed to be friends.

King started taking books out and Stella marched right up to him. He didn't even notice she was there until he went to shut the locker.

"Stella," King said nervously, fumbling his books.

Stella put her hands on her hips, now realizing she had no idea what she was planning on saying. She'd been too annoyed and too upset to think it through. "So? You want to tell me what's been going on here?"

King looked for a way out, scanning the halls. Stella hoped he wouldn't run, because she was positive she wouldn't be able to catch him. Stella was capable of running at moderate speed in heels when the situation called for it, but if King broke out in a sprint she'd be doomed.

"Don't ignore me," Stella prompted. "Answer the question."

Masamune sidled up beside them. "What's up, guys?" King looked at him desperately.

"Stella and I were just talking."

Stella threw her hands up in the air. "What is going on here? First you try to break my windows and now you won't even talk to me?" Stella felt her lip come close to trembling but she didn't dare let herself fall apart now. "I thought we were friends."

A look passed between Masamune and King. Defeated, King opened up his locker and pulled out a piece of lime green poster board. It was blank.

King wouldn't meet her eyes. "Originally, I was planning on asking you to prom the night I threw rocks outside your house," he admitted. "Gingka had gone over the top with asking Madoka to prom, so Masamune and I agreed that was what I should do to ask you, too. But then your mom showed up, and I got nervous. So I left.

"I thought you might be mad at me, so I didn't want to see you until I was ready to ask again and explain myself, but I'd already lost my best idea. I didn't know what to do after that, so I figured I'd just try a basic poster. Only, I've had it for days now and I couldn't figure out what to write. It's been sitting here in my locker this whole time. Pretty lame, huh?"

Stella ignored the last bit. She looked at him, eyes shiny. "You want to go to prom with me?"

"Of course! There's no one else I'd rather go with."

"Then let's go together!" Stella exclaimed excitedly. She jumped forward, wrapping King into a hug.

Masamune watched them, cheering happily. "Awesome! Now we can get a party bus to go in!"

Stella giggled as she broke free from King. "Masamune, there's no way we can get a party bus on such short notice. You need to have like thirty people to fill one."

The disappointed look on Masamune's face only made her laugh harder as King slipped his arm around her waist.

* * *

Christina Cadelle anxiously refreshed the webpage on her laptop for the fifth time that morning. Nothing had changed.

This had to be a bad dream. It sure felt like it.

Her twin brother Chris walked into the room. Similar to her, he looked a bit frazzled at the moment.

Christina took in his violet eyes and blonde hair; they shared those features, though her curly hair went down to her mid-back and at the moment was tied off in a side braid. She knew exactly what he was thinking without him having to say a word.

"Just ask her already," Christina advised. "I'm sure she'll say yes."

Chris's eyes snapped over to her. "It's not that simple," he mumbled.

"Look," Christina broke it down, deciding it was best to be honest. "Prom is on Friday. That's six days away. If you don't do it now, it'll be too late. You can't just wait until it passes." She refreshed the webpage once more.

Chris stared out the window. "I guess."

Christina shut her laptop, exasperated. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

"No," Chris shook his head vehemently. "I can handle this. We're supposed to be seeing each other later today."

"You can do it," Christina encouraged. With that, she picked up her laptop and headed straight for her bedroom. She dropped the laptop on her bed and began pacing, taking her hair out of its braid as she ran her hands through it.

Similar to her twin, Christina was also having prom issues, though hers was something she needed to address this instant.

Last month, she had placed an order online for a dress that had yet to arrive. She'd heard the website was reputable and figured it would be easier to find something she liked online rather than deal with the overwhelming number of options in the stores downtown. Now, it was fast becoming clear she hadn't made the right choice.

She'd faithfully kept up with checking for shipment updates, despite the fact that none ever came. Still, she hadn't allowed herself to stress, figuring everything would work itself out in the end. Last week, she'd heard a rumor that the company she'd made her purchase from was declaring bankruptcy. Christina reassured herself that she'd made her order plenty early, and that the dress would arrive soon enough. The company was more than likely backlogged with everything they were going through at the moment.

This morning, however, the situation abruptly changed. Christina had logged onto her account only to see her order had been canceled.

She'd stared at the webpage in disbelief, refusing to believe it. She checked over and over, not wanting to believe it. Two hours later, she finally accepted things were not going as planned.

Christina threw on a red graphic t-shirt, dark jeans, and black combat boots. She tied a red and black plaid flannel around her waist before slipping on a pair of black gloves. She gave herself a quick once-over in the mirror, noting her tan skin had a slight flush to it, standing out against the freckles that dusted her nose and cheeks. Her eyes drew up to the small scar over her left eyebrow.

Christina shook her head. Now was not the time to be checking herself. She looked fine. She needed to sort this out as soon as possible.

She raced downstairs. Chris looked at her with mild concern. "Everything all right, Crissie?"

Christina shook her head. "It better be. I'll see you later. Don't forget to ask her."

At least Christina already had that sorted out, she thought as she rushed out the door. Unlike her brother, she'd had a date since prom had been announced. She was going with her boyfriend, Bao. It hadn't even been a question.

Christina hopped into her dark red Chevy Camaro and sped downtown.

Once she got there, she immediately navigated over to the closest dress shop. As soon as she got the dress situation figured out, she wouldn't waste her time worrying about prom again until it was here.

Christina took a deep breath as she entered the store. She had no idea how many dresses were left, she only hoped she could find something she deemed acceptable. She kept her standards low, hoping not to be disappointed. As long as she wasn't expecting to find perfection, she would be fine. Her options were going to be limited no matter what.

The walls were bare, save a few dresses hung up for display. There were dozens of racks around, still brimming with dresses though a quick look at one showed there was a reason none of the dresses had been purchased.

Christina wandered over to the sale rack. Maybe there'd be something perfect left over from last season that'd been missed.

She flipped through the rack quickly. No such luck. There was a plain blue floor-length dress that could be used as an absolute last resort and played up nicely with some accessories, but she sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to that. She wasn't that desperate yet. Besides, blue wasn't the color she was looking for in a dress anyway.

She wanted red. The dress she'd attempted to order online had been red. Up until now, Christina had been reluctant to check out the two racks with red dresses, afraid she wouldn't be able to find anything.

Christina went over to one of the displays. She found a sequined red dress that could be acceptable, but it was several sizes too big and there was no time for alterations this late. Christina sighed.

She was stuck between a rock and a hard spot for sure. She'd already told Bao the color of her dress, and by now he had to have chosen something for himself that matched. It wasn't a necessity, but wearing a red tie with a blue dress wasn't exactly ideal, especially when they'd already tried to sort this out a month ago. She wasn't about to make him go out and purchase something new.

A young saleslady probably only a few years older than Christina came up to her. "Are you finding everything okay?"

Christina gave a smile, hoping it didn't come across too forced. It wasn't the girl's fault the store was low on options. "I'm still looking."

The girl came closer to her, almost whispering. "Do you want a red dress?"

Christina nodded, wondering where this was going. "That's the look I'm going for."

The salesgirl motioned for her to follow. She led Christina down to a storage room.

The room was teeming with dresses in every color. Several couldn't even be seen; they were wrapped up in dress bags. There was barely any space to walk in the room. The girl began furiously sorting through them, on a mission. Soon, the bright colors swallowed her up.

Christina stayed silent, uncertain. After several moments of silence punctuated by the sounds of rustling fabric, the salesgirl emerged victorious with a white dress bag in hand. She quickly unzipped it. The contents inside spilled out.

Christina nearly gasped. The dress was an absolutely gorgeous shade of dark red.

"This just came in yesterday," the salesgirl told her in a hushed whisper. "They showed it on the runway over the weekend. It's not supposed to be available for purchase yet. This is the only one we have; it's just a sample."

Christina reached out to touch the fabric, mesmerized. "Why are you showing it to me?"

"I graduated two years ago. I remember what prom was like," the salesgirl smiled. "And trust me, none of the red dresses left out front are worth wearing."

Christina carried the dress over to one of the fitting rooms to try it on. She held her breath, praying it would fit. Finally, she turned to see herself in the mirror.

The dress was ten times better than the one she'd tried to order online.

* * *

Zina raked her hands through her long black hair. She was on her way to meet Chris, running a few minutes late. Her stomach felt weird, nervous and fluttery.

They were going hiking on one of the trails near the outskirts of town. It led up a small mountain that only took a few hours to "summit". Chris had been up it before, and assured her he knew the way. Neither of them had any desire to be cooped up inside. Zina hoped the springtime air would help her think clearly.

She met Chris at the trailhead. Her heart skipped a beat. They'd talked a few times since last meeting up at the coffee shop- usually at school, where they were always surrounded by other people, and once briefly on the phone to find a time and place to meet up. This was the first time in a while they'd be hanging out without anyone to interrupt.

Zina tried to conceal her growing smile. She'd only seen him one-on-one like this once since she realized she had a crush. Even if she didn't know how he felt about her, she was glad to be spending time with him.

"Ready to go?" He looked up at her from underneath his blond hair.

Zina adjusted the backpack she was carrying. It was filled with water bottles and snacks. "Definitely."

For the first twenty minutes of the hike, they talked about school then lapsed into a sudden silence. Zina felt as though there was something between them, though she couldn't imagine what it was.

She let the silence stay there as she mulled over anything she could possibly use to reignite the conversation. Normally she and Chris got along so easily. Something was up.

For a second, she was almost nervous. What if Chris had somehow found out about her crush and didn't feel the same way? What if he was only going on this hike with her because he felt bad and now everything was awkward?

Immediately, she shook her head. She was overthinking things.

"You're going to prom, right?" Chris asked suddenly.

"Yep," Zina chirped. "I got an awesome dress last month."

"Cool. Crissie and Bao are going, too." Zina smiled. She'd met Chris's younger twin several times before. She was well aware of her relationship with Bao. For that, Zina envied her- just a little.

"Are you-" Zina's question was abruptly cut off as the tree Chris had pushed out of the way came flying back in her direction and walloped her in the face. Zina yelped and stumbled backwards.

She heard Chris gasp. "Are you okay?"

Zina stood up, laughing. "Yeah. Just watch where you're going next time, okay?"

Hours later, they reached the top of the mountain. It wasn't that tall- maybe a few thousand feet, tops. Still, with the slow incline and somewhat rocky terrain, it had taken longer than expected to get there.

Zina looked down, seeing the busy town below them. It hummed with movement, cars on every street. From where she stood, it felt good to be away from it all, separate from the rest of the fast-paced world. Things really felt slower, calmer where she stood. The midday sun high above them shimmered on her caramel skin.

"That was fun," Zina said, sitting cross-legged on the ground. She smirked, "Ready to go back down?"

"Hardly," Chris rolled his eyes playfully as he joined her sitting in the dirt. "You brought snacks, right?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm going to share," Zina said coyly as she pulled her backpack away from him. "H-Hey!" Chris launched himself at her in an attempt to snatch the bag from her hands.

Zina tumbled backwards, laughing. She quickly righted herself.

"Now that we have an understanding," Chris began, "Pass me that trail mix."

Zina gave in, only because she was close to the edge and another attack from Chris could send her down the mountain towards the pile of rocks they'd just navigated through. She'd get back at him on the way down.

"So are you going to prom?" Zina asked, finally putting to words the question she hadn't been able to ask earlier. Getting slapped by the tree had effectively distracted her until this moment.

Chris nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there."

Zina was about to comment, but as she stood up to walk over to where Chris sat, her foot slipped on a loose rock and she lost her grip.

"Ahh!"

As she started to slide down the rocks, she felt Chris's hand grab her wrist. She felt a quick jolt of electricity zap through her as their skin touched. She stared up at him. It would've been cute, if she weren't capable of climbing back up several feet without any assistance.

Zina laughed. "You can let go, Chris. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" He sounded much more concerned than he needed to be.

"Of course." Zina wriggled her hand out of Chris's. She took a few careful steps to make sure the rocks she stood on were stable. Moments later, she was back on the summit, with nowhere to go but down. Chris shook his head, smiling. Zina also smiled. He'd underestimated her, a silly mistake. A small slip was nothing to get concerned about.

They both walked over to the edge, watching the world continue below them.

"Zina… Maybe now isn't the best time to ask, or maybe you just don't feel the same way as I do. But up here above everything else, I feel like being rejected may not be so bad," Chris's purple eyes bore into her brown ones. "Do you have any interested in going to prom with me?"

Zina was quiet for a moment, processing.

"Sorry," Chris backpedaled. "It's just, I like you, and Crissie's really been trying to convince me I should go with you, but if I'm making this weird-"

"You're not making this weird," Zina interrupted him. "Not at all. I-I really want to go to prom with you, Chris. I would've asked you, but I wasn't sure if you liked me, either."

Chris's face broke out in a grin. "So it's mutual, then?"

"Absolutely," Zina confirmed with a nod. "It's a date?"

"Only if you think you can handle me."

"A date with you on prom night?" Zina responded in a sarcastic tone. "C'mon, at least give me an obstacle if you want this to be a _real_challenge."

Chris smirked. "Just you wait."

Together, they faced downwards on the path they'd traversed, ready to begin the trek back.

* * *

Birds chirped as sunlight filtered down in the early morning. Bright green blades of grass glistened with dewdrops.

Prom had finally arrived.


	10. Chapter 10

**UPDATE: Last chapter, I announced I'd be taking votes for Prom King and Prom Queen. I have made a poll- it's posted on my profile, so please go there to vote. I've set it so that you can vote for TWO pairings; that way if you want to vote for yourself, you can but you can also vote for another pairing, which I encourage. So think about all the pairings we've seen and whose arc you've really liked! The poll will remain up until the next chapter is posted- so you've got a few weeks. I think anyone with an account is allowed to vote according to the website's guidelines.**

**Here's another longer chapter (honestly, at this point, all of them are just long). Shoutout to SailorCandy, GinMado, ai, and Moonshine Orchids for reviewing!**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

Gin swiped the mascara wand over her lashes with a final flick of the wrist. She looked herself over in the mirror one last time, satisfied.

The last few hours had been a blur of activity. For whatever reason, maybe venue availability, prom had been scheduled on a Friday. While students had been allowed to leave early (signing out had been a total pain with so many people fighting over the three sign-out sheets), they'd still had to endure classes until twelve. And those classes had seriously dragged.

But now, all of that was behind her. Gin wore a long sleeved shimmering floor-length black dress. The fabric gleamed as it swished around when she moved, a feature she noted with admiration. The long sleeves wrapped her arms in a tight embrace. Gin couldn't have hoped to find a better dress. She stepped into her black heels, and she was ready to go.

As she walked outside on her front porch, she looked over in the direction of the wooded trail forlornly. It still saddened her to think Kyoya wouldn't be joining them.

Nonetheless, she was pretty excited. She'd never been to prom before, and since moving she'd made such great friends. She was supposed to meet up with them at Madoka's house, where the limo would be picking them up.

Gin rushed out the door, excitement filling her.

When she arrived at Madoka's, Gingka and Hikaru were already there. Hikaru was snapping photos of Gingka and Madoka as they posed in front of a tree.

Hikaru giggled as Gingka tried to convince Madoka to jump on his back for a piggyback ride, which she refused vehemently on the grounds of not wanting to ruin her dress before they even got to the dance. She was confident Gingka would accidentally drop her. Hikaru caught a picture of the moment, Madoka's carefree laughter filling the air.

Hikaru wore a white dress, though it could never be mistaken for a wedding dress. Initially, she'd wanted to go with something red or blue, but once she found the icy dress, she'd been more than willing to go outside her comfort zone. The short dress was composed of ruffled fluffy layers, the bottom of each adorned with a thin row of crystals. The ruched bodice was decorated with the similarly with crystals of all sizes. A large bow wrapped around her waist tying in the back, mimicking the bow of the halter around her neck. For someone who hadn't wanted to go to prom, she looked absolutely radiant. Gin noted she'd complemented the look with a clear, see-through bag and matching clear heels. That must have been Sophie's idea. She wore crystal accessories, too. Her hair adorned with a matching hairpiece, Hikaru looked like an ice princess.

Hikaru grinned when she saw Gin approaching. "Hey! You want a picture?"

Gin rolled her eyes, though she smiled. "I suppose. How many times is this gonna happen tonight?"

Hikaru snorted. "Please. By the time this is over, we're going to have so many pictures we won't know what to do with ourselves. Besides, I promise I'll make you look good. I'm deleting all the bad shots."

Gin leaned up against the tree. "Fair enough."

A car screeched into the driveway. A frazzled Stella stepped out of the passenger seat before the car was even off.

"As many times I've been in the car with you guys, I never get used to it," she muttered.

Masamune hopped out from the driver's side. "C'mon Stell, my driving isn't that bad." Stella shook her head. King jumped out from the back seat and was at her side in an instant.

Stella wore a bright green high-low dress with a sweetheart neckline. The back laced up in a corset. The bottom half of the dress poofed out to excess whereas the top half was decorated with sparkly silver swirl designs that while heavily concentrated toward the neckline petered out toward the bottom of the bodice. A silver cuff bracelet was on one of her wrists, the other wrist decorated with her usual eye of Horus bracelet. A silver choker glimmered on her neck, bringing attention to the large crystal chandelier earrings that dangled just above it. Her hair was curled up in a half up, half down style accented by silver glitter that had been sprayed into it for effect. On her feet, Stella wore open-toed strappy silver high heels.

"How much time did you spend getting ready?" Gin murmured to Stella as she and King took her place by the tree for pictures.

"Too much," Stella whispered, amused. "My curling iron didn't want to work."

By the time Stella reached the tree, King had already climbed into the branches and was looking down at her. His lime green tie dangled down toward the earth. Stella shook her head and glanced up at him, Hikaru taking a picture as she did so.

Gin looked over at Madoka and Gingka, who could not have been happier. For whatever reason, Gingka was wearing an atypical gleaming white suit, though it perfectly matched Madoka's dress with its blue vest and bowtie combo.

As for Madoka herself, she wore a silky strapless cerulean mermaid dress with an asymmetrical waistline that poofed out around the bottom of her legs, making her appear taller. She had a matching pair of dangling earrings and necklace encrusted with darker, sapphire-colored blue stones. Those stones matched the ones on the belt she wore around her midsection and the ones on the headband in her hair. Sapphire crystals also littered the very bottom of the dress. She wore a corsage that matched the boutonniere Gingka had.

Gin was glad she'd chosen to go with this group. Masamune and Hikaru would be great company if she ever started to feel uneasy about being single- not that it necessarily bothered her. She just knew there would be moments when both Stella and Madoka would be caught up with their dates and she'd need someone else to talk to. They still had one extra seat in the limo and it made her heart ache every time she thought about it that Kyoya wouldn't be the one filling it.

Hikaru took a break from taking pictures as they waited for the limo to arrive. She sidled up next to Gin.

"Who do you think will make prom court?"

"Oh," Gin blinked. She hadn't even given it the slightest bit of thought. "Well, if Gingka and Madoka don't make it I don't have a clue who will. I'd be surprised if they don't take king and queen."

Hikaru laughed. "Don't let Sophie hear you say that. She's wanted that title for years."

Gin shrugged. "It's really anyone's game though, isn't it?"

Hikaru nodded. "Absolutely."

* * *

Ninel patiently waited for Dashan to arrive. Any minute now, they'd be heading over to Sophie's. Sophie had a grand plan for everything that would happen leading up to their grand entrance, though she'd been vague on the details. At the very least, she was adamant they all be at her house for five.

Ninel's dress reached to her ankles in the shape of an A-line skirt featuring a medium slit that exposed part of her right leg. Made of the chiffon, the strapless dress featured shades of viridian green and blue-violet. She'd accessorized the dress with a thin metal waist belt and three and a half inch silver dress sandals. White pearl drop earrings decorated her ears. The white pearl necklace on her neck, with its pink seashell charm, paired nicely with her white pearl and pink seashell headband. Her hair had been done up in an elegant bun.

Then, he was knocking on her door. He'd walked over, since they were on the same block. Ninel felt her heart drop as she opened it. She couldn't believe this was really happening. It felt like her breath had been stolen away.

Matching her dress had not been any easy task. Knowing they wouldn't be able to find a tie with both colors, they settled for one in viridian green. Refusing to be beaten, they'd explored other options for matching. Rather than typical cufflinks, Dashan's were made of seashells, matching her accessories. They'd also taken a different route with her corsage, which Dashan slipped on her wrist as she pinned his boutonniere. The flowers were blue-violet in keeping with her dress, but pearl and seashell accents had been added in as well. Given the difficulty, Ninel thought they had done quite well with what they had. From their outfits, it was obvious they were together.

"You look amazing," Dashan breathed. He straightened up, offering Ninel his hand. "Ready to get going?"

Ninel and Dashan pulled into Sophie's driveway exactly at five. Wales greeted them as they got out of the car.

"Hey, guys." He wore a black suit with a purple vest and tie. "Sophie's out back with Aurora and Mei Mei. We're just waiting on Chao Xin to arrive."

"Sounds good," Ninel smiled. She carefully stepped onto the grass, trying to avoid having her heels sink into the ground. Dashan and Wales hung back for a moment, talking.

Mei Mei was sitting in a chair on the patio. She called out a hello. Ninel noticed her light pink kitten heels next to her chair. Mei Mei lifted up the skirt of her dress to slip her feet into the shoes, tightening the straps.

"Ninel!" Sophie ran up and embraced the other girl. Her large silver earrings comprised of three hoops of increasing size jangled. A silver clutch with a thin chain swayed on her right shoulder. She wore matching thin silver bangles on both wrists. Her long blue hair had been swept up in a dramatic twist with curls dangling all around. The front portion of her hair had been molded to look like side bangs and was pinned up on the left side of her face.

Sophie's dress fit her as though she had been the model it was made on. The royal purple backless dress was entirely made of lace on the top half. The neck plunged into a V-shape, with the straps coming up to wrap around her neck forming a choker, tied in a neat little bow. The bottom of the dress clung close to her legs before blossoming out on the ground in a circle around her in an exaggerated trumpet style. The edges were rimmed with lace similar to that which made up the bodice. Ninel couldn't even see her shoes, though she suspected they would be silver in keeping with her other accessories.

Aurora followed Sophie, a shy smile on her face. Her face was glowing.

Aurora's off-the-shoulder dress was made of black silk with a corset back formed by swirls of silver. The princess gown had a sweeping train trailing behind it, the skirt illuminated by dustings of glitter in both silver and black. Most of the glitter centered around the entirety of the waistline before becoming less noticeable towards the hemline at the bottom. The sweetheart neckline was accented with a jeweled rose directly in the center, sparkling smaller crystals lining the rest of the neckline. Similar crystals could be seen decorating the waist, too. She wore glittering silver strapped stilettos. Sophie grinned as she saw her best friend right on her tail. Aurora had really pulled out all the stops this time.

Silver earrings imitating thorny vines with small black roses were suspended from her ears. Around her neck, Aurora wore a rose pendant made of black diamond. Eyeliner and mascara drew attention to her violet eyes. She'd also applied a touch of light blush and pink lipstick. Her fingernails shined, matching her dress with their shimmering black base accentuated with silver.

Her starlight hair was neatly combed back on the sides, both braided then twisted together into one singular braided bun that resembled a rose. In the center of the bun, a shining black diamond floral rose hair comb had been added at the top. It glistened in the sunlight. The remainder of her silver tresses was loosely curled into voluminous coils.

Mei Mei rushed over to greet her as well once situated, her shoes now hidden beneath the tulle layers of the large pale pink ball gown she wore. Those sparkling layers exploded out from the Basque waistline, which had been embellished with silver beading. The same beading was at the top of the dress, drawing attention to the sweetheart neckline and back as it trailed behind to meet the laces of the corset. Pale pink gloves with glittering silver detailing covered her arms up to her elbows. For jewelry, Mei Mei wore a large silver statement necklace and matching teardrop earrings. She looked like a princess.

Ninel thought back to when Mei Mei had gotten the dress. Back then, all of them had been certain Mei Mei would be going with Chao Xin. She'd wanted a dress that would make a statement, but was still her. Now, it didn't matter that Mei Mei wasn't going with Chao Xin. Date or not, Mei Mei was truly luminous on her own.

"Are we taking pictures?" Ninel asked, wondering if she should go get Dashan from the driveway. She glanced around. The backyard looked… well, like a backyard. The grass was exceptionally green and granted it was a better than average yard, but there was nothing extra about it. Sophie hadn't done it up. Ninel was expecting streamers everywhere, or something to indicate tonight was a special night.

Sophie shook her head. Her eyes twinkled, hiding some secret. "Not yet."

Ninel was about to press further when the boys marched up, Chao Xin with them. He was dressed in timeless classic prom attire, a black tuxedo with a bowtie. Ninel caught Mei Mei staring at him for a moment before looking away. She wondered how Mei Mei felt about going in a group with him but not technically being with Chao Xin.

Mei Mei caught her peeking. She sidled up to Ninel. "I'll be fine, trust me. It's better this way. The way the situation is, going with him right now as a friend would only feel like a consolation prize," she said in a hush, then finished with a smile and wink as though she had some secret she wasn't telling. Ninel wanted to press and ask Mei Mei what had happened, but there wasn't time.

Sophie clasped her hands together. "Perfect, everyone's here! I asked Julian if he wanted to join us, but he and his girlfriend already had plans," she explained matter-of-factly. To the girls, she whispered, "I think they're taking a horse and carriage. Can you imagine?"

Ninel was impressed. That certainly was one way to make an entrance at prom. Regardless, she herself much preferred the method they were using. Who could say no to a limo with friends?

At that moment, they heard a screech in the driveway. Sophie's eyes lit up.

"The limo must be here!"

In a rush, the seven of them dashed out front. It was just five-fifteen.

The white stretch limo was parked in the middle of Sophie's circular driveway. The driver came out and introduced himself.

After posing for a few photos in front of the limo, they all piled in. There was more than enough room for all of them. Another person would have easily been able to fit. Ninel sat next to Dashan on the plush leather, across from Aurora.

"I wonder why we're leaving so early," Aurora mused. "Prom isn't until seven."

"Oh," Ninel frowned. "Sophie didn't tell you anything?"

Aurora shook her head and cleared her throat. "No. She's been keeping quiet about it."

Mei Mei didn't look like she knew anything either. Dashan and Wales were deep in conversation and Chao Xin was staring up at the disco ball above them. She doubted Sophie had let them in on whatever was going on.

The limo started moving.

"Sophie, where are we going?" Ninel prodded. She was dying for someone to tell her what was happening, and it looked like the only one who could do it was the one in charge.

Sophie shook her head. "You'll see."

* * *

Christina rushed down the stairs as the doorbell rang. She'd just put on her ruby earrings and taken care of all remaining finishing touches. Bao had arrived. Silver bracelets dangled down her wrists as she reached to open the door.

Christina's dress had exceeded all expectations thanks to the fantastic salesgirl. The dark red bejeweled gown had a lovely sweetheart neckline. She wore silver heels, barely visible underneath the red fabric. She'd styled her blonde hair in a bun, though a few strands hung loose to frame her face, accentuating her cheekbones.

She opened the door. Bao was there, much more dressed up than usual and looking better than ever. Christina admired the red tie that perfectly matched the shade of her dress. She still couldn't believe how lucky she'd gotten.

She gave Bao a quick kiss. "You look great."

Bao shrugged, slightly uncomfortable in his get up. "I dunno. This whole thing is a bit much."

Christina laughed. "It's prom. That's the point. C'mon, let's go take some pictures before we leave."

Her brother was still in the bathroom. Christina yelled to him they were headed out and together she and Bao went out to pose in front of the Camaro they'd be taking to prom. Once Chris got outside with them, he'd be able to take some full-body shots for them.

"Aren't you glad we decided to go?" Christina asked, half-joking, half-serious.

Bao gave her an amused smile. "As thrilled as I'll be when this is all over, I'm ready to make at least one good high school memory."

Christina touched his hand, meeting his golden brown eyes. "Oh yes, because prom is the only night where it's possible to make good memories," she teased. Bao simply smiled back. She couldn't help but adore the way his face lit up every time he did.

"Geez, where's Chris?" Bao asked, glancing back at the house. "It doesn't take _that_long to get ready."

Christina laughed. "He hasn't been in the bathroom too long. He's probably just trying to control his hair."

"I don't know, Crissie. Sometimes I think your brother's more high maintenance than you are."

"That's because I'm not high maintenance at all."

"True, but that doesn't change the fact he's the dramatic one."

"I heard that, Bao." They hadn't heard Chris open the door. In a few short strides, he met them in front of Christina's Camaro.

She thrust her phone at him. "Do you mind taking some pictures?" She knew from the way he opened his mouth he was about to protest. "Oh please. I'll take some of you and Zina when she gets here."

Chris did as he was told before handing the camera back. He went back inside, leaving Christina and Bao alone again.

"I'm really happy he's going with Zina," Christina said softly. "I know it's been bugging him for a while, but I wasn't sure what would happen. He really likes her. Watching him mope around the house was awful."

"It'll be good for him," Bao agreed.

Christina opened the trunk of the car, making sure there was room if anyone was bringing anything with them. Space was limited, but this was the only way she could imagine going to prom. She pushed a few emergency items she kept in the bag off to the side before shutting the trunk.

Christina looked over, and saw that Zina had finally arrived. Chris was beaming, his arm around her. Christina smiled, happy her twin had gone through with asking the other girl. Together, the four of them were a perfect fit: Zina was close friends with Bao and now she was with his girlfriend's brother. Things really could not have worked out any better in that respect.

Zina wore a two-piece sequined dress in a vibrant shade of rose gold that contrasted beautifully against her dark hair. On the back of the cropped top piece, which exposed a sliver of her bare stomach, was a large teardrop shaped hole. The skirt of the dress reached all the way to the ground, brushing against the driveway pavement.

Christina whipped out her phone. It was time to fulfill her end of the bargain she'd made with Chris. "Okay!" she called out. "Zina, Chris, get together!" The two of them stepped into the frame and Christina snapped the shot. Next, she ushered Bao over and together the four of them squeezed together to take a selfie that barely fit all four of them in the screen.

"Good enough!" Christina cheered. "Ready to get going?"

Chris looked at the Camaro dubiously. "Are you sure we're all going to fit in there?"

"Of course! I mean, we may not be that comfortable, but it's not that far of a drive. Besides, think about the money we're saving."

Chris seriously looked like he was reconsidering. Christina smirked. It wasn't like he could get a limo this late in the game. Besides, of the two of them she had the better car and he knew it.

She opened up the driver's side door. "It's gonna be tight, but we'll make it work. Zina, you can sit behind Bao, and Chris, you sit behind me. I think it'll be best that way." At the very least, everyone would get the maximum amount of legroom possible. She moved the seat to make use of the back of the car. She'd rarely ever used the two back seats before. Half the time she forgot they were even there.

Zina and Chris crawled over the front seats.

"Tight doesn't begin to cover it," Chris muttered as he snapped on his seatbelt.

"This is nothing," Zina said, a sarcastic tone beginning to fill her voice. "Just wait, Chris. Once we've eaten dinner, one of us will have to ride in the trunk if we want to fit. The way were are now, we've practically got our own private jet there's so much space."

Christina shook her head as she adjusted the rearview mirror. "You guys are ridiculous."

She turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the driveway. She let her right hand slip off the wheel once they were on the road, and Bao took it. She squeezed his hand tightly as she listened to Zina and Chris laughing in the back. This was certainly going to be a night to remember.

* * *

Marcos slowly shut the door behind him, locking up the house. He slung a backpack over his shoulder. He was not yet dressed for prom.

Marcos lifted his bike upright from where it leaned against the side of his house and undid the combination lock. Unlike the majority of the student body, he found it unnecessary and frivolous to waste time and money on extravagant travel methods. As always, he would be taking his bike.

That being said, he wasn't about to ride in full dress clothes. The venue wasn't exactly close, and it wasn't worth ruining the expensive items and getting sweaty. For the moment, he was just wearing red shorts and a hoodie. There was a nice breeze in the air today.

Marcos figured he'd resolve the rest of the details when the time came. It couldn't be that hard to find a place to change once he got close. His ticket was packed away in his bag and he had everything he needed. Marcos strapped on his helmet, mounted his bike, and was off.

The sun was still out, but he could see it wasn't as high as it had been twenty minutes ago. Regardless, it provided a nice backdrop to ride against.

He had estimated it would take him roughly an hour, probably less, to get to the venue. Considering he rode his bike everywhere, Marcos was in pretty good shape. He was confident he could handle the journey. The prom was being held a few towns over, though his biking route was fairly straightforward. There were only a few hills he'd be up against.

The warm air brushed against his face as he started pedaling. Marcos welcomed it, enjoying the feel of the wind as he cut through it.

He was ten minutes into the ride and deeply invested in his own thoughts when he heard a sharp noise, almost a harsh sob, pulling him back to reality. He slowed to a stop, looking around.

Marcos would have missed the source of the noise completely had he not been paying such close attention. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the first of many prom gowns he'd be seeing tonight.

Unexpectedly taken aback, Marcos realized he was directly across from what must have been Lera's house. She stood out in the driveway, pacing back and forth. Without much thought, Marcos crossed the street and put down the kickstand on his bike, walking over to see her. He pulled off his helmet, carrying it under his arm.

Lera's metallic silver dress was long and poofed out a little, with slits on both sides of her legs. The entire dress was decorated with a glittery silver brocade pattern. A large beaded belt was around her waist, helping to break up the dress. Instead of straps, the dress had thin beaded chains that hung off the edge of her shoulders. She matched these with a series of silver anklets. The neckline was somewhat plain, straight across, though that didn't matter because she'd placed an enormous statement necklace right above her chest. Her usual pigtails had been curled. Marcos noted she looked very pretty tonight.

Lera turned around and Marcos found himself shocked. She looked close to tears. Few things surprised Marcos, but this was certainly one of them.

Lera blinked quickly, surprised. "Marcos? What are you doing here?" Her voice sounded a bit watery, too.

Marcos collected himself. "I'm on my way to prom." He gestured to his bike. "Are you okay?"

Lera shrugged, her eyes looking very teary now. "I'm supposed to be on my way to prom. My friend Aleksei was going to pick everyone up, but there's an issue with his car. I can't drive there. I don't know what I'm going to do."

Marcos nodded. Lera had certainly found herself in an unfortunate situation at the eleventh hour. "Is there anyone else you can go with?"

Lera shook her head. "Not at this point. It's too late." One tear sneaked down her cheek. She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I was so excited."

Marcos had to smile a little, despite the situation. He had an idea, although he wasn't sure Lera would be willing to go along with it. "Do you have a bicycle?"

Lera tilted her head in confusion. "A bike?" she asked. Then she glanced back at the one Marcos had left in front of the driveway and realization hit her. "Oh, yes. I do. But I don't know…"

"You can come with me," Marcos said assuredly. "If we leave now, we won't even have to worry about being late."

Lera frowned and bit her lip. "I don't know. I can't ride in a dress."

Marcos pulled his backpack off and unzipped it. "I've got my clothes inside. You can fit your dress in a bag, too. I know it's not ideal, but it's the best shot you've got at the moment."

The doubt had dissipated as it was replaced with a newfound hope. Lera's eyes had lit up, excitement slowly coming back to them. "I think I can fold it so it won't get too wrinkled," she agreed. "Wait here. I'll go change."

Just over five minutes later, Lera rushed back out wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. She opened the garage and pulled out a pink bike. She sprayed her pigtails with a quick dusting of hairspray before tucking it in her bag. So the curls wouldn't be completely ruined during the ride, she informed Marcos.

"I'm ready," she declared. Marcos straddled his bike, kicking up the stand. With a quick push, they were on their way. He stayed to the outside, keeping an eye out for any approaching cars.

* * *

Kyoya sat at the table, tapping his knuckles on the table as he stared out the window.

Ever a loner, Kyoya was used to nights like this spent by himself, but something felt different this time. Maybe it was because all of his friends were going to prom. Even Nile was going. Nile had tried to convince Kyoya to go, but he was adamant in his decision to stay home. The only reason Nile was going was because he didn't want the money he'd spent on the ticket to go to waste. That, and Kyoya was fairly certain Nile was nursing a crush on a particular girl he'd been bringing up a lot lately who was definitely going to prom.

Kyoya snorted. He didn't have anything like that tying him down. His girlfriend had ended their relationship weeks ago and by now, he couldn't have cared less. Sure, it'd been a shock at first, but he'd fast adjusted and found he was much happier for it.

Besides, he could see the chaos happening right now. Gingka was probably whining loudly about something- likely food- and the minute they got in that limo King and Masamune would be playing with the disco ball and lighting. Kyoya didn't care to be caught up in that mess. The girls would be squealing over their dresses, giving him a headache.

At the mention of girls, his mind wandered over to Gin. He wondered how she was doing, what she was wearing. She'd tried to convince him to go to prom, too.

Weirdly enough, Gin had been on his mind a lot lately. He didn't really understand why. She was new; she'd only been at the school for a few months. Yet, it seemed like she was always there, especially when, on rare occasions, he didn't want to be alone. He thought back to that day at the lake. He'd wanted to be alone more than anything that day, but at the same time, he craved the simple presence of another person. She'd been that presence. She never pushed him, ever.

Kyoya stewed on it for few minutes. He thought about her dancing with a random guy, her eyes shining up at him with adoration. His hand clenched into a fist.

In that moment, it hit him. It had been so obvious all along, yet he'd blindly ignored it the entire time.

He liked Gin. And he was about to throw his chance with her away. She'd invited him to join everyone for prom time and time again, but he'd fought her every step of the way, too proud to give in. He was about to pay for that pride.

Kyoya glanced up at the clock. There was still time. He could make it, if he left now.

In a flurry, he dressed in the black tuxedo and white dress shirt he'd bought for prom. They'd been stashed in the back of his closet. His ticket was sitting on the desk, peeking out from the papers piled on top of it. He shoved them aside. The mess would have to be cleaned later. As he ran down the stairs, he tugged on a dark green tie that matched his hair.

He raced outside, pulling on his jacket as the door slammed shut behind him.

* * *

**Don't forget to go to my profile to place your vote!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'M STILL HERE I PROMISE JUST VERY BAD AT UPDATING. Let's hope the next chapter doesn't take almost four months to come out eheheh. Couple things before we start! Next chapter, prom king and queen will be announced- I am leaving the poll up on my account a little longer as there is currently a tie. Last chance to vote if you haven't done so already! From what I understand, you can't vote on mobile, so switch to desktop version while on a phone if you're looking to vote. Additionally, if anyone has any songs they'd like to request be played at the prom, please let me know- I can't guarantee it'll make an appearance, but I'm open to suggestions. Lastly, thank you to Guest, CookieSnookie, rokebuto (thank you for sharing how to vote for those on phones), Moonshine Orchids (I too, am jealous of these characters), and GinMado! Extra shoutout to GinMado for being super supportive with this next chapter, even though it's taken ages to come out.**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

Sophie kept a poker face for the next twenty minutes. Stubborn Ninel had stopped trying to pry information out of her. Even Aurora was antsy now as the limo took a left turn. She ran her hands over the glittering skirt of her dress, then fiddled with one of her curls. Thankfully, enough hairspray had been spritzed into it that no matter how much she played with it the ringlet wouldn't come undone.

Outside the window, she could see a long wooden fence stretching on and on into the distance and lush green hills peeking out ahead past the trees. This definitely was not the way to prom. So where were they going?

Sophie was fast typing on her phone. She stared at the screen for a moment. "Almost there!" she declared.

"Yeah, but _where _is there?" Ninel asked exasperatedly.

"I told you, you'll find out soon enough," Sophie responded, taking a small compact mirror out of her clutch to check her flawless hair for any imperfections. Aurora's mouth twitched up in a small smile. Sophie looked perfect and she knew it.

Sophie wanted to be prom queen more than anything, but Aurora was well aware that a few hairs out of place wasn't going to be what kept her from the crown if she didn't win. Sophie was probably familiar with that fact as well, but maybe constantly scrutinizing every inch of her appearance helped her to relax. Aurora gazed out the window. She wondered what it would be like to win prom queen.

She fantasized about standing in front of her classmates as a glittering tiara was placed atop her head. Her dream prom king would be none other than Nile, of course. She thought wistfully of holding his hand while confetti rained down on the two of them with everyone surrounding them cheering as the limo sped past rolling green hills.

She was pulled out of her daydream as she noticed the limo was beginning to slow, turning onto a small dirt road. If they were going to find out whatever it was Sophie had been plotting, it was going to be soon.

Something about the road seemed familiar, but Aurora couldn't quite put her finger on it. An old, nearly forgotten memory tugged at the corners of her mind, though the nervous excitement she felt from the approach of the impending dance made it difficult to focus.

"Wait a minute," Ninel interrupted the conversation, her tone curious. "Aren't we near the Gardens?"

Aurora blinked. The Gardens were a beautiful assembly of flora arranged by color, species, and other discerning factors on the outskirts of town. She had gone there once when she was little; that was why she'd recognized the road. Last she'd been, there had been three enormous gardens, several smaller ones, and one large greenhouse in the back. Paths lined with flowers led to each section. She had a faint recollection of running through row after row of tulips. Now that she knew though, she couldn't think of why Sophie would-

Of course. Sophie wanted them to take pre-prom pictures at one of the most extravagant, lavish places in town. It was the perfect setting. At the end of May, most plants would be in full bloom.

Sophie's mouth was upturned in a delightedly mischievous grin. Aurora had to hand it to her. Sophie had thought of everything, working out every meticulous detail so prom really would feel like it was something out of a fairytale. The only thing Aurora was missing was her prince.

She frowned. Aurora didn't understand why her thoughts kept coming back to Nile. She knew she liked him, but the thought of getting close to him, letting him in still made her very, very nervous.

She supposed it was just the excitement of the night. Prom was the epitome of high school romance. Love was definitely in the air tonight, and it wasn't just because Aurora was wedged next to Sophie and directly across from Ninel, both girls looking quite comfortable next to their dates.

The limo came to a halt and the driver opened the door for them, the occupants rushing to get out. Sophie led the way towards the main and only building, right up to the receptionist. She gave her name and was immediately handed several tickets, which she passed out to each of her friends.

"I called last week to make sure we'd be able to get in," Sophie explained. "Tickets are on me. C'mon, let's get going! We've only got forty-five minutes tops to take photos before we've got to get back to the limo if we want to make it on time!"

Aurora stifled a soft laugh. Sophie took prom a little _too_seriously.

Sophie practically dragged Wales over to an assemblage of elaborate topiaries and posed. Aurora took the camera and started taking shots. She'd get her own pictures soon enough. She eyed the freesias not too far away, thinking she might like to have some photos taken next to them. The white petals would provide a lovely contrast to her dark dress.

Wales then stepped aside so Sophie could have a photo by herself. She stood in between two topiaries shaped liked marine mammals: a dolphin and a whale.

Sophie gazed up at the whale with a loving expression. "Sorry Wales, I'm leaving you for this guy," she giggled. Wales rolled his eyes at the bad joke.

Chao Xin and Mei Mei were helping Ninel and Dashan take their photos. Ninel had scoped out the scene and thought a picture along the pathway lined with various blooms would be perfect.

As soon as their pictures were taken, Chao Xin passed the camera to Mei Mei and jumped into Dashan's arms, shocking him. Dashan managed to catch Chao Xin a second before he hit the ground, scowling. Mei Mei clicked down on the shutter as many times as she could.

"What was that for?" Dashan demanded.

Chao Xin shrugged. "I just wanted to get my couple pictures taken from prom night too, that's all." His devious grin was nothing short of adorable to Mei Mei. Dashan shook his head as Ninel raised her hand to cover her mouth while she laughed. Of course Chao Xin had to be the center of attention.

Mei Mei spotted where she'd like to have her photos taken next. To her right, slightly down one of the paths rainbow petals exploded in a dizzying kaleidoscope of colors as several different kinds of flowers merged together.

While the others were distracted, Mei Mei walked over to her chosen spot.

"Hey," Chao Xin emerged behind her suddenly. "You want me to take some pictures?"

"Sure," Mei Mei responded, feeling a bit shy all of a sudden. She hadn't realized she'd be doing her poses in front of Chao Xin. There was a nervous flutter in her stomach. "How's this?"

"Lift your chin up, just a little," he instructed.

When they were finished, he came over to her, scrolling past the photos he'd taken. She'd made him delete some of the bad ones, but he teased her every time she cringed one of her expressions.

"Wanna take a selfie?"

Mei Mei blinked. "Sounds good."

He stood right next to her, wrapping his free hand around her waist as he held the camera up above them. They'd never been this close before. Mei Mei smiled her biggest, brightest smile. She might not have a date for prom, but she was with her best friends and there were amazing memories to be made. Not to mention, she'd now have a little sliver of her and Chao Xin from this night to keep forever.

Everyone seemed to be having such a great time, Sophie thought placidly as she watched Mei Mei and Chao Xin. She, Wales, and Aurora had all finished taking their pictures just a few minutes ago. Sophie hadn't looked at any of them yet, planning on touching them up with a little editing later. She doubted much work would have to be done, though. They couldn't have had a more picturesque background. She was so glad that she'd come up with the idea- and that everybody had liked the surprise. Sophie had always known she wanted to do something more than just take photos at her house, but it had taken her a while to figure out exactly what to do instead.

With the advent of the summer months, the sun was still fairly high up in the sky. She welcomed the warm light as the remaining heat beat down on her. She'd missed it, with the sun setting so early in the winter.

Sophie glanced down at her phone. It was a little later than she'd realized, but they were still on track to make it on time.

"C'mon!" she barked. "Everyone back to the limo! We've got a prom to get to!"

* * *

"What do you think this one does?" Gingka experimentally prodded a button on the remote he held.

Madoka swatted it out of his hand. "Can't you guys give it a rest already?"

King dashed to the floor of the limo before anyone could stop him and scooped up the remote. He pressed the button in question. "No way! This is too much fun!"

The disco ball began twirling above them.

"Awesome!" Masamune cheered. He high-fived his best friend.

In addition to the sparkling disco ball, rainbow lights flashed erratically. A loud, electronic song with a thumping bass line reverberated through the space.

Hikaru covered her ears. Finally, Gin snatched the remote from King's hand. She turned the volume down.

Hikaru removed her hands. "Thanks, Gin," she sighed. "I thought I was going to go crazy."

"These lights could give you a seizure," Stella commented idly. Gin switched off the rainbow lights, but kept the disco ball going. The spinning silver reflections created a soft, much less aggressive ambiance.

"Can we have the remote back?" Masamune whined.

"No," Madoka said firmly.

Masamune whispered something to King. King nodded. The growing smile on his face was only a little concerning. Masamune pushed King, who leaned into Stella. With a small shriek, she lost her center and fell over onto Gin. The remote was sent scattering on the ground.

Masamune made a grab for it, but Hikaru was too quick. Her clear platform heel covered the remote. She glared, daring him to challenge her. The spike of the shoe gleamed menacingly in the direction of his unprotected fingers.

"Fine, fine," Masamune withdrew, sullen. "I should've gone with Toby and Zeo." King looked offended.

Hikaru picked up the remote and turned up the music slightly. "Why's that?"

"Because _they_would've let me be in charge of all the effects! I bet that limo is wild right now! Or it would be if I were there. But nooo, they had to go and get dates," Masamune grumbled. "Why did no one tell me I needed to get a date?"

The other occupants of the limo stared at each other in disbelief.

"Uh, Masamune?" Stella began. "You don't _have_to get a date for prom. It's not required. But a lot of people do end up with going someone. And you knew King wanted to ask me, right? And you were helping him figure out how to go about it. So why didn't you have him help you get a date?"

Masamune didn't have a response to that.

Hikaru laughed so hard she snorted. "Ha! Well, there's no use moping now!" She cranked up the music before handing the remote over to Madoka, the most responsible party. Hikaru grabbed Gin and Masamune's hands, lifting them into the air. "Alright, single people! Let's party!"

Hikaru started swaying and moving as best she could. It was impossible to properly dance in the limo. Gin joined in. Gin grabbed Masamune's other free hand and the three of them made a mini-circle. Masamune looked like he'd rather be anywhere else than in his current predicament.

King laughed before turning to Stella. He whispered, "I found these when I sat down. I think they're complimentary."

Stella tilted his head and saw that King was holding several small bags of candy. She covered her mouth to hide her grin, but her bright eyes gave away her smile. King had pushed Masamune out of the way to get into the limo first. Of course he had taken all the candy for himself. Stella's eyes lit up as she saw a package of gummy bears. She took them from King, silently eating them as she watched the madness unfold.

During the middle of Hikaru, Gin, and Masamune's "dance", Madoka leaned over to give Gingka a quick kiss.

"Oh that is just gross," Hikaru complained, but her voice betrayed her. She continued sarcastically, in good humor, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present our fabulous Prom King and Queen!"

Madoka flushed red while Gingka asked if the title came with an extra serving at dinner. Hikaru just rolled her eyes and turned up the music louder.

When they pulled in to the venue, all of the flashing lights were back on and everybody was grooving. With the pounding music, it was hard to tell the vehicle had even come to a stop until the lights shut off the moment the limo was put into park and the key removed. Seconds later, the driver opened the door and the seven of them scrambled out.

"It's pretty impressive they managed to reserve the science center," Madoka remarked as she stepped out of the limo, Gingka offering her his hand. "They must have a banquet hall inside."

Stella nodded. She'd been to the science center plenty of times as a kid, but she never imagined she'd be going there for prom years later. It was perfect for things to come full circle this way.

"Look!" Hikaru pointed. "They've lined the entryway with stars!"

Silver stars were pasted on the ground all the way to the double doors, where two men dressed in formal attire stood waiting to open them. Balloons were arranged on the outskirts of the stars.

"This is pretty-" Gin's comment was abruptly cut off when she saw someone else standing beside the two men, looking impatient and uncomfortable. She very nearly gasped.

Kyoya Tategami of all people was waiting at the door, in a tuxedo with a green tie. As she approached, dozens of questions flitted through her head, but she couldn't find the words to speak. Why was he there? Kyoya hadn't exactly been subtle about his disdain for prom.

Kyoya didn't say anything, but he walked up to Gin the moment he saw her coming and offered his arm.

She gladly took it.

* * *

Christina pulled into the first available parking spot she could find when they reached the science center. It was only just after seven, but limo after limo was pulling up to the front entrance, and there were already quite a few cars parked in the lot too, though none quite as nice or anywhere near as shiny as her Camaro, she noted.

Zina and Chris got out of the car as fast as they could. Both of them made a big show of stretching out and acting like they'd been squished into a locker for three hours rather than the back of the car for barely half an hour. Christina caught Zina's eye and the two of them shared a smile.

Christina and Bao led the way, Zina and Chris right behind them. There was a line of at least twenty people waiting to get in, but it moved fairly quickly.

The entrance opened up into a large lobby. Zina stared up at the ceiling, admiring the ornate architectural details. Big marble columns stretched from floor to ceiling, wrapped in soft decorative fabric.

A table was in front of one of the halls leading off in the direction Zina supposed they were meant to take. Silver velvet ropes had been set up guiding them toward it. Most of the students were following the ropes then disappearing out of sight.

Christina stopped at the table. "What do you suppose this- Oh! Prom king and queen! I forgot about that."

Zina picked up one of the forms. "Think we can vote for ourselves?" She joked.

Christina shrugged. "Honestly, I don't see why not. There's really nothing wrong with it." She quickly scribbled down two names then stuck her vote into the ballot box. Zina did the same, and soon the boys followed suit.

Once they'd submitted their votes, the four of them followed the hallway, now packed with other students. Zina wondered in what room exactly prom would be taking place. The science center must have several rooms they used for conferences. She'd never been in any of them before. They might be a boring if they were set up for lectures, but she figured a few decorations could jazz up any of them.

When they finally made it through the hall, pushing past glittering silver tinsel that hung down halfway in front of the doorway, Zina heard Christina ahead of her gasp. Mere seconds later, she realized why.

Their prom was not, in fact, taking place in a stuffy conference room or even an elegant banquet hall. Instead, they all stood in the planetarium. Up above them, different constellations glittered, beaming soft silvery light down.

To her left, tables had been set up, all with silver centerpieces. Big silver bows had been tied to the back of the chairs. She could see food being set up for the buffet. The section intended for the dance floor was off to the right, and already filling up with students. Similar to how the entrance of the building had been decorated, there were sparkling stars all over the floor and balloons placed strategically around the room. The decorations may have been minimal, but with the cosmos above them anything more would have been completely unnecessary.

"I was not expecting this," Chris murmured.

"I don't think anyone was," Christina added in a hushed tone.

Zina jumped excitedly. "Well, we're here!" The high energy of her fellow classmates zapped through her. "Let's have some fun!"

That being said, Zina had no idea what she wanted to do first. The dance floor seemed like the obvious answer, since dinner wasn't set to start for another hour, but she didn't care much for the song that was currently playing.

Bao was distracted by a display right near the entrance brimming with pamphlets. He leafed through one.

"These list all the constellations and planets they'll have over us tonight and how to find them," he explained. "It tells you what time of year they appear in the sky and how to actually see them outside, too."

Christina leaned over him to get a better look, touching his arm as she did so. "That is so cool."

Zina plucked a pamphlet from off the display and she and Chris flipped through it. She stuffed it in her bag so they could look at it later. Chris wanted to find Orion, but it didn't seem like the constellation was one of the ones currently overhead.

Students who weren't on the dance floor were milling around, looking up at the sky booklet in hand. Christina suggested they all do the same.

Before they had a chance, Chris noticed some familiar faces. Zina hadn't even unzipped her bag to pull the guide out again.

"Dashan and the others are over there," he told the rest of the group, pointing to a spot off to the left of the dance floor. Zina recognized the Ninel and Mei Mei from the dresses they'd picked on the shopping trip they'd taken what seemed like ages ago. "Let's go say hi."

Christina took one last glimpse up at the glimmering night sky before agreeing and the four headed over to greet their friends.

* * *

Marcos slowed his bike as he and Lera drew closer to the gas station that was their destination. At this point, they were roughly half a mile from the science center.

Changing for prom in a gas station bathroom may have been less than ideal, Marcos was willing to admit, but the only alternative they had was to change in the woods by the science center, and that was even less appealing. For starters, there were barely any woods to begin with so finding a spot would be difficult in itself, and when Marcos had voiced the option, Lera seemed less than impressed. Besides, both of them much preferred to arrive at prom already dressed, rather than get there and have to figure it out. Marcos doubted they would be allowed inside in their casual outfits. Changing at the venue was not in the cards for them.

At any rate, the gas station wasn't that far away anyway. It might be a little tricky, especially with Lera's dress, but he was confident they could handle the short distance on their bikes.

Marcos locked his bike into the rack at the station as Lera followed suit. She looked slightly tired, but a big smile was on her face and her curls were still more or less intact.

It had taken them a little longer than he'd anticipated for them to arrive, but he didn't mind. Lera had done her best to keep up, and the journey wasn't exactly short. It was no easy feat to make it this far. They hadn't spoken much on the ride, preferring to keep their focus and energies on the task at hand. From what she had told him though, it'd been a little while since she'd last used her bike, not since the previous summer anyway, but she'd done a great job keeping pace.

Once inside the bathroom, Marcos quickly changed into his dress clothes: a navy blue blazer, gray khakis, and leather dress shoes. It took him minimal time to change, so he waited outside for Lera once he was finished. Her dress had looked fairly complicated to get into.

About five minutes later, she joined him outside. Again, he was taken aback by how lovely she looked tonight. The bright pink of her hair and her silver attire made for a stunning combination.

"That dress looks wonderful on you," he commented. Lera blushed an adorable shade of rosy pink.

They were already a few minutes late, but Marcos didn't mind. He'd seen several limos pass by them while he'd waited. He assumed the entrance was likely packed with students trying to fight their way inside. Being a tad late would actually make things easier for them.

He and Lera unlocked their bikes, settling back in for the last bit of their trek. Lera had hiked up her dress so it was bunched around her knees, but despite looking as though it might be uncomfortable, it no longer brushed the ground. Lera wasn't complaining at the very least. She was nothing if not a highly motivated individual. Her eyes were still shining, growing more excited the closer they came to prom.

Marcos couldn't blame her. He was suddenly overwhelmed with a flash of contentment that he'd convinced her to come along with him and bike to the center. He thought of how heartbroken she'd looked in her driveway. If he hadn't come along, there was no telling how her night would have gone.

A few minutes in and several quick turns later, the science center loomed directly ahead. The parking lot was flooded with cars; limos of varying models waited at the entrance. As expected, he could see a small crowd of people lingering up at the door. Marcos began to slow, putting on the brakes as he gently coasted downhill into the driveway.

By the time he and Lera made it to the front walkway and chained up their bikes, it was quarter past seven. Lera, who had still been wearing sneakers, quickly swapped her shoes for a pair of short heels. Ever the gentleman, Marcos offered Lera his arm and she took it without hesitation as they handed their tickets over.

After dropping off their heavy backpacks at the coat check, they paused to fill out the ballots for prom king and queen. Marcos didn't bother. He didn't care much about that particular institution although Lera spent a few thoughtful moments considering her choices before dropping her votes in the box.

Marcos quickly surveyed the room as he and Lera took their first steps into the planetarium, taking in loud, blaring music and shrieking students. All in all, prom was turning out to be exactly what he'd expected.

Or, at least, almost what he'd expected. Lera was still holding his arm, and that was one welcome surprise the calculating teen hadn't been able to anticipate.

* * *

**Friendly reminder to vote on my profile if you would like, and to send in any song requests for a chance for them to be mentioned in story!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I think I've got the page breaks in all the right spots, but if I've missed something, please let me know. This chapter really should've been broken up into two, considering how long it is, but hey at least it's done now XD Admittedly, I've had most of this chapter done for a while, but i really haven't been doing much writing and have started devoted more of my time to other things. I've undergone a couple life changes since my last update, and that's part of the reason this has taken so long. That being said, I still do intend on finishing the story, but updates will continue to be infrequent, although hopefully not four months apart again. Thanks for sticking around!**

**Thanks for the song suggestions! I didn't put all of them in, but I tried to squeeze most in where I could. I'm also very grateful to everyone who voted on my profile for Prom King and Queen, it was definitely interesting watching the results come in :D Thank you KacchakoRyuKaru, Cosmic Wish, GinMado, rokebuto, and Nightlingale for your reviews! They've definitely been encouragement in keeping this going :)**

**Lastly a little look forward in what's to come, like all good proms, there's usually an after party to follow! If you'd like your character to swap outfits for it, or if your character has any drink/food preferences that might be relevant for that, please let me know! Just send a PM and I'll get back to you!**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

Ninel swiftly pulled Dashan onto the dance floor with her, the A-line hem of her dress swishing as she moved. She noted Dashan's slight apprehension at first, but Dashan quickly fell into rhythm with her. Martial arts and dance weren't that different after all, and Ninel could definitely see his training reflected in his dance moves.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aurora lingering hesitantly at the edges of the dance floor. Sophie strode up to her. Then Dashan spun Ninel in time with the music and she lost sight of both girls. Dashan drew her in close for a kiss as the music faded out.

Ninel nodded appreciatively as "Only You" by Cheat Codes and Little Mix began playing over the speakers. The dance floor was really beginning to fill up now that most people had arrived. Until dinner began, there wasn't much else to do just yet. Supposedly, there were appetizers around somewhere and voting for king and queen was still underway though.

"Want to keep going?" Ninel asked as the song hit its chorus and Dashan responded by twirling her a second time.

Ninel laughed freely as he pulled her back in close again, then let go of his hand as they separated. She'd never imagined she'd have this much fun at a school dance.

Ninel swayed her hips side-to-side, sashaying across the dance floor, loving how elated she felt. Dashan caught her, dipping her low then she spun herself out of his reach when she came back up. They were so in sync; it was like they'd been made for each other. Every movement they made fell perfectly together. Ninel was once more astonished at how long it had taken them to get together.

The song changed to a loud, upbeat number, one of the latest bangers that'd been dominating the airwaves as of late. Students suddenly swarmed the floor. Even the ones who had lingered at the edges or over by the tables wanted to get in on it. Ninel pumped her fist in the air and began jumping with everyone else.

Mei Mei danced over to her. "How are things going?" she shouted over the clamor.

"Fantastic!" Ninel beamed.

Ninel noticed Chao Xin appear not too far away from them. He seemed to be working his way closer to their direction. She smiled knowingly at Mei Mei. Mei Mei blushed and rolled her eyes, trying to feign a lack of caring.

"Think you'll get a chance to dance with him?"

Mei Mei smirked as the color faded from her cheeks. "One can hope."

Ninel shook her head. Mei Mei needed to take things in her own hands. "Get over there, girl!"

Back at Sophie's, Mei Mei may have claimed she was okay with how things were, and maybe she was, but Ninel hoped something exciting would happen. It wasn't as if Mei Mei had given up on her crush by any means.

Ninel gave her a gentle push in his direction. "Go on," she urged.

Nervousness flashed across Mei Mei's face. It was always easy to act confident until it came down to actually doing something, and Mei Mei was clearly facing that dilemma. "Oh, I don't know-"

Chao Xin had paused where he was, dancing with two girls. Ninel recognized them as regular members of his fan group. "You're his friend. You have just as much right as they do to be over there with him. Besides, it's dancing. You can do it!"

Mei Mei was about to protest when the song hit its breakdown and the crowd swallowed her up as it surged wildly with excited shrieks, effectively separating the two girls. Unable to see much amid the shifting students, Ninel could only hope Mei Mei had taken the advice to heart.

Of course, Ninel would be grilling her for details next time she saw her. She wasn't about to let Mei Mei off the hook that easy. And if Mei Mei hadn't gone off in Chao Xin's direction just now, at dinner Ninel would be there to convince her it just might be worth the effort.

Ninel reunited with Dashan as the song ended. He was standing at the edge of the floor, taking a second to catch his breath. Both of them needed a quick break after that song, but they'd be dancing again soon enough.

* * *

Christina was anxiously awaiting dinner and neither she nor Bao had any desire to jump into the middle of the dance floor just yet. Unfortunately, that didn't give them much else to do.

A waitress walked by carrying a tray of virgin daiquiris and Christina took one for herself. She took a long sip of the frozen strawberry drink, thankful for at least being able to put something in her stomach. In all the excitement of running around and getting ready, she hadn't really had much time to eat at all.

Rumor had it there was going to be a killer party afterward, and she was debating whether it was worth going to. She'd have to check to see whom else would be going.

Bao nudged her gently. "Look." He pointed to a few tables over in one of the corners of the room where a few tables with silver platters piled up on high, tiered displays sat. "I think those are appetizers."

He took her hand and led the way. Christina was grateful, concerned that any minute her stomach would start growling loudly. That was not the kind of scene she wanted to make at her own prom.

The appetizers were already going fast by the time they reached the table. Christina used a touch of force to push her way up to the front of the mass of students. She wasn't about to wait for anyone who couldn't make a decision. There was no telling how many appetizers they had to go around. One empty platter had been swiftly replaced by the staff, but even its contents were already half-empty.

"They must be good," Christina surmised with a slight giggle. Her hollow stomach was definitely getting to her. She wasted no time grabbing a free plate for herself. The food looked fantastic, and with so many students crowding around, she got the feeling it wasn't going to last. Clearly, she wasn't the only one starving.

Christina spied a few pierogies lingering on one of the displays, with freshly refilled bruschetta nearby. Next to them were deviled eggs and a plate of cheeses and crackers. Guacamole and chips were on the other side of the table along with small meatballs, stuffed mushrooms, spanakopita, and chicken wings. The smell was intoxicating.

"Wow," Christina breathed as she picked up what she could before everyone else snatched it away. Satisfied, she broke free from the swarming crowd and waited for Bao to emerge from the madness. He joined her seconds later with his own large plate.

"This is fantastic," Christina commented as she bit into the first of her selections.

"They really went all out," Bao agreed. Both of them walked off to the side, getting out the way of more oncoming students who'd recently discovered food was available. The dance floor had filled up even more, despite the fact that so many were crowding the appetizer tables. Christina assumed pretty much everyone who'd bought a ticket must have arrived by this point.

She spied her brother dancing with Zina not too far away before the two of them disappeared out of sight, consumed by the dance floor. She smiled. Things had worked out well for everyone this time.

She looked up at Bao just as he kissed her on the forehead. She closed her eyes and smiled again. She would never tire of that. This night was going to be a special one and it was only just getting started.

* * *

Aurora had slipped away from Sophie the moment the first slow song of the night started, her friend temporarily distracted as she'd dashed off to find Wales. Anxious to get away, Aurora had pressed up against one of the walls, watching the world race around her.

Aurora _was_ planning on dancing at some point, but not this soon. And obviously, she didn't have anyone to slow dance with, so that was not happening. She was still adjusting to the large amount of people in the darkened space and getting away from the center of the action seemed like a perfect way to do so. The expansive sky above had actually just changed the slightest bit, with new constellations starting to peek their way in. By the end of the night, they would have seen the entire night sky as it looked over a single calendar year, complete with accurately timed meteor showers interspersed. The first hour of prom was already behind them.

She considered checking out the appetizers, but the table was completely swarmed. Aurora shuddered at the thought of trying to get anything from there. Attempting to fight her way over for a few small snacks just wasn't worth it. She'd have to wait out until dinner at this point.

Instead, Aurora took out the pamphlet she'd gotten at the entrance to the planetarium. She already knew a fair amount about the stars due to her passion for astronomy, but the pamphlet would definitely help her get her bearings faster. Especially during the warm summer months, Aurora enjoyed going out at night to stargaze. If one knew where to look, during that time the Milky Way could be visible to the naked eye on clear nights.

Aurora lifted her gaze upwards just a few shooting stars streaked past. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't notice right away when someone tapped her shoulder. She only pulled her gaze away from the dreamy sky when they tapped her a second time.

Aurora blinked when she saw Nile standing next to her. It was hard to tell in the semi-darkness, but his normally tanned complexion seemed to be a bit flushed. She couldn't be sure, though.

"Sorry," Nile began, "I tried calling your name, but you seemed distracted."

Aurora actually felt herself smile. "I was. I love looking up at the stars. It's so easy to lose myself."

Nile nodded. "Looking for anything specific?"

Aurora shrugged. "Not at the moment. Just trying to figure out where everything is."

"I overheard one of the teachers saying that the sky was starting in the current month, with what it actually looks like outside and then working its way through the rest of the year," Nile explained helpfully. "Libra's over to your left." He pointed at the cluster of stars.

"Thank you," Aurora said, quite impressed. She'd already picked out Libra earlier, but the fact that he was willing to assist her- and actually knew what he was talking about- made him even more attractive.

The slow song changed to a louder, faster paced song. Aurora immediately recognized it as OneRepublic's "Counting Stars." She didn't know whether to roll her eyes at the irony or look at it as something deeper. Nile was listening to the music with a thoughtful expression on his face, one ear cocked toward the speakers.

Aurora chose to ignore the coincidence. "Look over there, that's Lupus," Aurora informed him. "And over there I think that's Draco starting to appear. It's almost completely visible. They must be getting ready to change up the sky again."

A shooting star passed over their heads. Aurora dipped her head down and when she looked up she locked eyes with Sophie who was staring at her straight across the room. Sophie saw Aurora's close proximity to Nile and gave her a knowing smile.

Aurora sighed. Of course this wasn't going to be easy. If Sophie had her way, Nile and Aurora would be an item by the end of the night. Granted, that might've been what Aurora wanted, but she wasn't going to jump into anything just like that.

She quickly broke her gaze with Sophie. She couldn't stand her best friend giving her that smug, excited look. Aurora surprised both her herself and Nile by grabbing his wrist. She ignored the sharp thudding of her heart. "C'mon," she heard herself say. "There's a few more constellations on the other side of the room. I'll show them to you."

She let go of his wrist and he followed her lead without a word. Her stomach fluttered.

As the current song came to a close, the music began to soften and fade into the background until only the exuberant sounds of the excited students could be heard, but those too began to disappear as everyone fell silent.

A loud voice boomed over the intercom system, announcing that the dinner buffet would be starting soon and the students should begin making their way to their respective tables. As soon as the system crackled off, the music started up again, though softer than before and much more ambient. Prom-goers spoke in hushed whispers as they rushed over to their tables, the excitement in the air palpable.

Stella looked around for King, who'd vanished with Masamune earlier in search of Toby and Zeo. She hoped he hadn't gotten himself into too much trouble. Rather than stress over his whereabouts, she headed over to table 12, knowing her date would soon join her, his stomach always a top priority.

She spotted Gin and picked up the pace in her tall heels. Kyoya was by Gin's side, as he'd been since they saw him waiting at the entrance. Stella couldn't help but smile. She was so glad things had worked out for the other girl after all.

"Hey," Stella grinned, bumping Gin's arm slightly. "Ready for dinner?"

"Absolutely," Gin responded almost immediately. "Those 'appetizers' weren't designed to hold anyone over."

"At least they tasted good!" King burst onto the scene, slinging his arm around Stella's shoulders as he narrowly avoided accidentally knocking her over. Stella only shook her head and rolled her eyes good-naturedly as she quickly regained her balance, used to the never-ending madness.

Madoka and Gingka were already at their table. Ryuga was also there, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

Masamune appeared from nowhere and crashed into the seat nearest Gingka. Madoka pursed her lips, but didn't say anything about the matter. King sat right next to Masamune. Stella took her spot, hoping the three lunatics wouldn't cause too much trouble- or start a food fight- during dinner. Getting kicked out of prom was not something she wanted to add to the list of things she'd done in high school. Gin and Kyoya dropped into the next two seats, leaving only two empty. Kyoya looked quite pleased to be sitting relatively far from Gingka and Masamune for once.

Stella did the math in her head. They'd all agreed that table 12 would be theirs when they first arrived so they wouldn't have trouble picking a spot when the dinner rush started, but even with Hikaru, that still only covered nine of the ten seats. She wondered who else would end up sitting with them. From what she'd heard, they'd practically sold out the venue so most seats were going to be filled.

Almost immediately, Hikaru appeared and took the free seat next to Ryuga. She looked slightly apprehensive about it. Stella briefly remembered Sophie saying something about Hikaru having a crush on him back when they'd all gone dress shopping. She wondered if that was still the case.

"Can we sit here?"

Stella looked up and saw Marcos standing above the table, with Lera hanging slightly behind him. Stella looked at the girl curiously. She and Marcos spoke occasionally from time to time, but he'd never mentioned Lera once. Were they a thing? When had that happened?

Kyoya pointed out the obvious. "There's only one seat left."

"That won't be a problem," Marcos assured him. Like a true gentleman, he pulled out the remaining chair for Lera to sit, then took a place setting from the table nearest them and put it between Lera and Madoka. Everyone scooted over to make room as he brought the chair over. There was more than enough room to accommodate him; they probably could've fit one more person, too.

"Why did we pick table 12?" Masamune grumbled as table numbers were called to go to the buffet a few minutes later. "We should've picked a smaller number."

Hikaru rolled her eyes. "Yeah? If we'd tried to go to any of the first three tables, we would've been swarmed by people fighting for the same thing. At least this way we could all sit together with practically no issue." It was true. When Stella was walking over, she'd seen quite a few students pushing each other around the first few tables, but no one had been near any of the tables numbered ten and above.

"Besides, they're going to constantly be refilling the food," Madoka pointed out. "There's going to be plenty left when we get there, don't worry."

"But the waiting-" Masamune complained, but was immediately silenced by a look from Kyoya. Ryuga looked like he was about two minutes from sprinting away from the table and leaving the prom.

Gin tried changing the subject to distract everyone from their growling stomachs. "So, has everyone voted for king and queen yet?"

Lera nodded. "I did! What about you guys?"

At that moment, a server placed a basket of bread on their table and everyone descended on the slices like wolves. Butter packets went flying.

"I haven't," Hikaru admitted. "I'm still thinking." The way the voting table was set up, at any point in the evening before the cut off time, students could go back and make their selection. An attendant was there to cross off their name as soon as they placed their ballot in box.

"I think it's dumb," Ryuga commented, speaking for the first time as he tore his bread in two. "Who cares?"

Hikaru bristled. "It's not _that_ bad. C'mon, live a little. Two people get to wear crowns for the rest of the night and have a slightly better time than the rest of us."

"For someone who was against prom, you're certainly defending its traditions," Madoka said, amused.

"Don't start with me," Hikaru laughed. "But for real, who cares that you don't care? Let everyone else have their fun."

Ryuga opened his mouth to say something back, but Stella's attention was drawn to the three boys sitting next to one another, all three of whom had gone uncharacteristically quiet. They whispered quickly to one another in muted tones. Stella suddenly got the unsettling feeling they were planning something. She was about to nudge Gin to get her opinion, but their table number was finally called.

Gingka, Masamune, and King stumbled over one another, pushing to be the first to the buffet table. Marcos offered his hand to Lera as she got up from her seat while Kyoya and Gin followed close behind the others. Stella fell in step with Madoka and Hikaru. Ryuga lingered behind them, as far from the chaos as possible.

The table ahead of them in line consisted of Dashan and Ninel, Sophie and Wales, Mei Mei and Chao Xin, and Aurora. Christina, Bao, Zina, and Chris were right there as well.

"Can anyone see what's up ahead?" Masamune whined.

Zina turned around and gave him a disparaging look. "Food," she deadpanned, earning snickers from the others. Masamune pouted.

They didn't have to wait particularly long, though, as the line split into two on both sides of the table as soon as they reached it.

There was food to meet every diet imaginable. Vegetarian lasagna and several different meat dishes served as the highlight of the meal, though there were innumerable side dishes available. Macaroni and cheese, multiple kinds of potatoes, salads, dinner rolls, and even French fries decorated the table. Unlike with the appetizers, there was more than enough food. The platters weren't being replaced nearly as quickly.

It hardly took any time for anyone to fill up their plates, thanks to the abundance in front of them, and everyone returned to their seats. The entire room fell into hushed murmurs, the music louder than anything else.

"This is better than I expected for prom food," Lera commented. Marcos nodded in agreement, warily watching Masamune and Gingka out of the corner of his eye. The two seemed poised to start a food fight at any given moment and he was not about to allow himself to be caught up in that spectacle.

Dinner finally came to a close, some people still running back up to the buffet tables to grab whatever was left. Gin laughed as she watched Stella physically restrain King from charging up to grab another helping of whatever he could get his hands on. Kyoya had gone to get the two of them drinks and would be back any minute. Until then, Gin was content to watch the chaos go down.

"It's a slow song!" Stella grumbled, looking at King pointedly. She couldn't hide the grin growing on her face. "C'mon, don't I get at least one of those?"

They'd barely started their dance when Masamune ran up to them, interrupting the serenity of "All of Me" by John Legend.

"Aw man!" he complained. "Now I gotta watch you guys do all this lovey-dovey stuff for the rest of the night! It's not fair!"

In response, King took his arms off Stella's waist, a devilish smile appearing on his face, then placed them around Masamune. "We can dance if you'd like," he laughed. Stella squeezed in between the two of them, and grabbed both of their hands. The three of them started dancing wildly in a circle, arms flailing, completely out of step with the music. Stella seemed content to accept that she was the third wheel in her own relationship.

"Gin!" Stella called. The group danced their way over to her. "Get in on this!"

Unable to see if Kyoya was coming, Gin resigned herself to the fact that it would be a good way to kill time until he did get back to her. Stella and King lifted their arms so Gin could slide underneath, and the three of them then danced around her, which turned into running in a crazed circle.

Barely a minute in, Gin heard a welcome voice breaking in.

"That's enough," Kyoya said, sounding a touch amused. He offered his hand to Gin and she sneaked out the circle, holding her dress so she wouldn't step on it.

"Where are the drinks?" Gin wondered.

"I put them on the table," Kyoya explained. "I thought we could take the opportunity to…" He trailed off.

Gin picked up on his apprehension immediately. Kyoya wasn't exactly the most romantic or forward guy; this probably wasn't the easiest thing for him. He hadn't even wanted to go to prom in the first place. "Let's dance," she finished the thought for him.

Gin felt a thrill as Kyoya wrapped his arms around her and she placed her arms around his neck. She still couldn't believe this was actually happening. She was at prom with Kyoya Tategami. He'd started out as her lab partner at her new school, then her friend, and now her date. Maybe he'd even be something more after the night was over.

When the song was over, they went back to the table to grab the drinks Kyoya had left before returning to their friends on the dance floor. Stella was losing her mind as Pitbull and Kesha's "Timber" started playing, declaring it to be her song. Kyoya didn't pull back when Masamune and King dragged him with them, using it as an excuse to grow more comfortable on the dance floor. Drink in hand, Gin joined them all, waving her free hand up in the air wildly.

At the moment, she honestly couldn't see how the night could get any more perfect.

* * *

Zina had slipped out of the planetarium using one of the circular room's many exits, Chris hot on her heels. She was pretty sure students weren't supposed to leave the planetarium, but it wasn't her fault that this particular exit had been left unlocked and unguarded. Besides, prom was a night meant for breaking the rules.

She and Chris rushed down the hall, giggling as Zina desperately tried not to trip over the length of her dress. She'd lifted it up, but the hem still grazed the bottom occasionally as she ran. The rose-gold color glinted, flashing as the two of them dashed from hallway to hallway, the light in each area illuminating the dress in a different way.

Dessert was set to start any minute, but the two of them just had to get away for a minute. The room was loud and all anyone could talk about was how prom king and queen would be announced shortly after dessert was served. She wasn't entirely sure where they were going, and she doubted Chris knew either, but she didn't really care.

Chris ushered Zina up the first set of stairs they came across. The science center was an endless, sprawling building that seemed to stretch on forever. Zina only hoped they'd be able to find their way back. Signs pointing out the direction of the planetarium had all but disappeared.

At the top of the stairs, Zina let out a deep breath, suddenly winded. Then her breath caught in her throat.

She and Chris had entered a small sitting room, one that was probably never intended for guests to find, with two vintage chairs tucked away in the corner and a large coffee table; it was probably meant to be a meeting area for very important benefactors and contributors a spot to discuss business. The old, probably rare furniture wasn't what had taken away Zina's breath, though. The most exhilarating part was the enormous window that took up almost the entirety of the right side of the room. The window overlooked the sparkling blue-green lake outside, and sunset was in full swing.

Zina watched as the magenta and vivid lavender hues did their swirling dance above the glittering water.

"It's beautiful," she breathed. Chris stood alongside her and nodded his assent, but she was so mesmerized she almost didn't even notice as their hands intertwined.

It must've been later than she realized, because the spectacle didn't last much longer. They'd simply been privileged enough to catch the tail end of the moment. All too soon, the pink shades blended into orange and dark purple fell over them, only to be eclipsed by inky blue.

A star twinkled off in the distance, alone as it pushed to light up the newly arrived night sky. Chris pointed it out to her. Maybe it wasn't as dramatic as the ones shining overhead in the planetarium as they came together into their dazzling forms, but it felt special.

At the moment, it remained the only star in sight, hanging perfectly from the sky as though it had been placed there for them alone to enjoy. Even though roughly two hundred of their classmates were dancing not too far away in the planetarium floors below, it felt like she and Chris were the only ones in the world, cut off by this tiny, secret hidden room.

Zina turned to face Chris. "I'm really glad I asked you to prom," he said softly.

Zina felt a lightness warm inside. "I'm glad I said yes," she responded honestly.

Chris leaned into kiss her and she didn't even think, only enjoying that their first kiss together was happening on prom night, the only witness the star above them.

They needed to head back soon if they didn't want to miss out on dessert, but Zina was in no mood to rush. As far as she was concerned, they had all the time in the world alone in their secret room.

* * *

Sophie rolled her eyes as she took her place in the long dessert line behind Wales. She admired how well the gel in his hair was still holding. All things considered, it was definitely impressive. She was going to have to ask what brand he used. She twirled a free hanging curling that fell along the side of her face impatiently. "Can't they just announce prom court now and get it over with? I'm so done with all this waiting."

Aurora sighed. "Soph, you've basically got that title on lock. Can't we just enjoy dessert?"

Sophie smiled deviously then, suddenly making Aurora incredibly uncomfortable. Sophie only ever used that unnerving look when she was up to something. Aurora did not want to know what that something would be at prom. Uneasiness spread through her.

Christina bounded into the line and groaned. "Why is everything tonight such a waiting game? First the appetizers and dinner, now this," she commented good-naturedly.

Ninel slid into line behind her. "Well do you see what's up ahead? Honestly, I'm not surprised there is a wait."

Sophie stood a little taller in her heels and let out a squeal of delight. "Is that an ice cream bar?"

Hikaru bumped into Sophie just then, narrowly avoiding toppling over in her tall clear heels.

"Masamune won't leave me and Ryuga alone," she panted, straightening up.

Ninel asked "Why?" at the same time Sophie questioned "You and Ryuga?"

Hikaru waved her hand dismissively. "Not what you're thinking, trust me. I was asking Ryuga about one of the constellations when we were getting up from the table, and then Masamune appeared with about a hundred questions." Hikaru shook her head. "Totally weird, too. He kept bugging us about who we thought would be King and Queen. I'm pretty sure Ryuga already made it clear he couldn't care less at dinner."

They finally reached the ice cream bar, complete with roughly fifteen flavors, dairy-free options, frozen yogurt, and every topping imaginable. At the end of the bar was a second table piled high with baked goods. Hikaru pushed in front of Sophie to grab a cookie, still going on about Masamune.

Sophie selected her flavor of choice, careful not to drip any of the hot fudge sauce on her dress as she poured it slowly from the bottle, drizzling it lightly. She scooped up a spoonful of raspberries to top her creation.

Christina piled up candies on her sundae before strutting off toward Bao at her table.

"Good luck to all of you when they announce the court!" she called.

Sophie waited for Aurora to settle on toppings before following after her boyfriend. Sophie could feel herself grow a touch impatient as she watched Wales go. They had been at the tail end of the long dessert line; any minute now it would be time for the big reveal. Instinctively, Sophie grabbed several napkins in case any of the sugary dessert dared stain her face and then she and Aurora headed straight for the table to eat as quickly as they could.

Lera bobbed excitedly in the dessert line, Marcos watching on in amusement as the light reflected her silver dress over and over again. He'd gotten a chance to meet her friends Aleksei and Nowaguma, and once more found himself impressed with the limitless ambition all three seemed to possess. The two of them had arrived a few hours late, once the issue with Aleksei's car had been sorted out.

Lera stuck gummy worms and chocolate chips atop the frozen yogurt she'd picked out for herself. Frozen yogurt, she'd said as she'd poured over the flavors, was the better choice for a future astronaut. She needed to keep her body fit and healthy, and it was best to develop the habits while still a teen, but a few pieces of chocolate- especially on such a momentous evening- wouldn't kill her.

Rather than sit with Aleksei and Nowaguma, Lera and Marcos went back to their original dinner table. Unfortunately, the late arrival of Lera's friends had complicated their situation and those two were stuck at one of the only tables that had space left, mostly with people they didn't know well. At least Marcos and Lera had managed to find some familiar friendly faces. Marcos was finding anyway that he didn't particularly mind sticking with Lera all night, regardless of who their other company happened to be.

Marcos had only just taken his seat beside Lera when the lights slowly began to dim. In response, he took a large bite of his dessert. Things were about to get wild.

The entire room began to shriek and twitter with excitement as the lights went down, only the stars providing them with a thick silver glow. It was just about time for the highlight they'd all been waiting for. A voice came over the speakers asking students to please take their seats.

Once everyone obliged, the lights came up just a little bit, and a spotlight appeared in the center of the dance floor. The class president stood there, holding a container with something silver inside. Marcos couldn't quite make out what it was. In her other hand was an envelope.

"Good evening, everyone!" She cheered and was met with uproarious applause. "I will now announce this year's Prom Court! When I call your name, please come up!"

The entire room straightened up in anticipation. All whispering ceased as the room awaited the results.

"Starting with the ladies… Could I please have Madoka, Sophie, Aurora, Lera, and Hikaru come see me?"

There was a slight pause as the words settled over everyone. Sophie hardly skipped a beat, immediately getting out of her chair and confidently striding toward the dance floor, head raised high. Next to her, Aurora was practically in shock, until Mei Mei nudged her gently and encouraged her go on ahead. Aurora felt her stomach churning as she unsteadily followed behind her best friend, wondering how on earth she had ended up on the court when there were so many other girls who could've taken her place instead.

Lera also seemed surprised, but she stood up to join the others. Madoka's reaction was similar, but a look of delight crossed her face as she got out of her chair, blowing a quick kiss to Gingka, confident he'd be joining her up there shortly. Hikaru crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

"Aren't you the one who said we should honor these timeless traditions?" Ryuga snickered.

"Shut. Up." Hikaru marched toward the spotlight, arms crossed over her chest. Once they were all up there, the five girls were instructed to stand off to the left.

"And on my right I'll need… Gingka, Wales, Nile, Marcos, and Ryuga!" The president's voice faltered the tiniest bit, almost confused as she read off the final name but she remained composed, smiling brightly.

Gingka and Wales seemed to have been expecting their names to be called, and if Nile was caught off guard, he didn't show it. Marcos was admittedly a bit thrown off, but he quickly realized that all night he and Lera had been walking around together. Marcos was popular enough and Lera was generally well-liked; it was no wonder people had voted for them, thinking the two were a couple. Obviously, they'd made an impression tonight. He smirked, knowing that could only be a good thing.

Ryuga stayed put in his chair, looking equal parts shocked and enraged. He probably would've walked right out of the room, if not for King and Masamune, both of whom had large grins on their faces. They forcibly stood him up, egging him forward.

"C'mon," Masamune said in a singsong voice. "They can't continue without you."

"Yeah," King acquiesced cheerfully. "They're waiting for you. Go up there and claim your crown, Dragon Emperor!"

With the entire room staring at him and the exits mysteriously blocked, or at the very least now tightly shut and some surrounded by teachers, Ryuga had no choice but to join the other four boys in the spotlight. His expression was nothing short of murderous.

Stella laughed, now knowing exactly why the boys had suddenly gone silent during Ryuga's argument with Hikaru at dinnertime. She was impressed they'd managed to pull off their little prank in such a short amount of time.

Up on the dance floor, the other nine hopefuls waited for his arrival. Once he joined them, the spotlight went up a little more.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your Prom Court!" The class president announced as her statement was received with thunderous applause.

The president opened the container and began pulling out long-stemmed flowers, presumably roses, with tinfoil covering them. Marcos looked at them curiously, wondering where this was going.

"Two of these roses are red," the president explained. "The rest are yellow. Whoever opens the red roses will be this year's Prom King and Queen!"

She began handing out the roses, requesting that the recipients wait to open them until everyone had received one. Marcos watched carefully, wondering if this was up to chance, or if the president knew exactly which roses were the red ones and who to hand them to. He peered over at Ryuga's rose next him, which was tightly clenched into his fist with the thorns likely digging into his skin, and tried to see if there was any difference in the way the tinfoil had been wrapped. Between theirs at least, he wasn't seeing any.

The girls were given their roses and moments later, the ten members of the court were instructed to remove the foil.

Marcos noticed immediately Lera's rose was yellow, just like his, but she caught his gaze and gave him a small smile anyway. She didn't seem particularly disappointed.

Ryuga let out an unexpected sigh of relief next to him, and Marcos saw his rose was yellow, too. He had to admit it would've been hilarious for Ryuga to be king. Marcos almost wished he had been in on this plan, so he could've cast a vote for him. The results would've been highly amusing.

Surprisingly, Wales had a yellow rose. Marcos would've picked him and Sophie to take the titles, knowing the high level of influence the two had over the social sphere. And Gingka's was yellow as well, despite his elaborate promposal scoring him major points with the other students. Which meant…

Nile, who, to his credit, had managed to remain fairly straight-faced for most of the event, now stared at the rose in his hand, dumbfounded. Over on the girls' side, they had just finished opening their roses.

Sophie had a gracious smile on her face, disguising whatever emotion she really felt at the discovery her rose was yellow. Marcos suspected she was more irritated than anything, though he had to hand it to her for maintaining her composure flawlessly. Hikaru's reaction was almost the exact same as Ryuga's, ironically enough, and Madoka also wore a friendly smile. Aurora held the red rose in her slender hand, eyes wide.

"Aurora and Nile! Please come forward!"

Sophie pushed her friend toward the president, who seemed paralyzed with shock and certainly unable to move without the encouragement. Whatever her previous emotions had been, the smile Sophie was now wearing was definitely genuine, Marcos noted.

Aurora stepped up next to Nile as both of them were crowned. The tiara felt cool as it was placed atop her head, little crystals glittering in it like stars. The tiara must've matched well with her dress, she realized, half-disoriented. She could not believe this was happening. Deep, deep down though, part of her was very excited. Again, her stomach was fluttering non-stop.

Nile took her hand and led her a few feet away from the others. It was hard to tell in the low light, but he seemed like he might be a bit nervous, too. The entire prom was looking at them, and she didn't even need to look at the crowd to know that. The room was oddly silent as everyone waited, a slow song suddenly cutting through the air at a moderate volume. Neither of them were used to being the center of attention this way. Aurora took a deep breath. This was really happening.

Nile slipped his arms around her waist. She placed hers on his shoulders, reaching towards his neck. She could see Sophie smiling gently at her, encouraging her. Aurora prayed she wouldn't trip, but before they could really start dancing, the music cut out as suddenly as it had began.

The room went dark.

* * *

**Cast your vote on who you think is out to ruin prom! Leave your guess in a review XD**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello from quarantine! I hope you guys are all doing well and staying safe :) Just a heads up, this is one of those chapters where I've had to split up the characters, so if you don't see your character here, they will be in the next one. Otherwise we'd be waiting even longer for me to write a chapter that'd likely top 10,000 words based on the length of this one and what needs to happen. I don't know about you guys, but I like my chapters to be manageable enough to read in one sitting XD But we're coming pretty close to the end of the story as it is! It's crazy to think this is already over a year old, but I'm glad to actually be getting a story done in a timely manner lol.**

**Shout out to GinMado, rokebuto, and Cosmic Wish for your reviews! I promise we will be seeing the end of the story. I've got most of it well mapped out, so it's just a matter of writing it. As for who ****ruined the moment, read on...**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

It was total, mindless pandemonium. Screams erupted from inside the planetarium as everyone panicked, trying to find their friends and dates in the complete darkness. All of the doors, for the moment, appeared to be locked.

Stella stood up from her seat, realizing it probably wasn't the greatest idea as she lost sense of her surroundings, being pushed around by the swarm of students rushing around in the darkness.

A few seats away, Gin called out for Kyoya, hoping to hear his voice over the clamor.

Ninel grabbed onto Dashan's arm, preparing not to lose him in the chaos. Both of them still remained in their seats, but it was obvious that wouldn't be an option much longer.

Mei Mei felt herself completely at the mercy of the current, with the crowd of students anxiously seeking the door, unable to fight her way out.

Christina and Bao took each other's hands, blindly making their way to the edge of the room, pressing up against the wall to stay out of it until they could figure out what was going on.

Zina and Chris had been separated by the flow of terrified attendees, but both remained where they were for the moment.

Marcos strode to the other side of the prom court line, in search of Lera. Luckily, she hadn't moved too far.

Madoka, Sophie, and Hikaru all linked arms where they stood, waiting.

Up on the dance floor, Aurora stood frozen in terror, her arms still around Nile. She barely registered him moving closer to her, their embrace a little more serious now as he held her tight.

For a moment, the shrieks died down as people began to adjust to the darkness. Loud sobs filled the air in their place. Teachers called out, trying to calm the storm. Most people were still running around in a desperate attempt to find a way out.

Then, just as quickly as the room had turned to total darkness, it was illuminated once more. Only this time, stars weren't projected above them.

One of their classmates stood above them with crossed arms, a defiant smile on his face.

"Tetsuya?" Madoka said in disbelief. "What is going on here?"

"That's right, crab! I've come to ruin your prom the same way you ruined mine!" He laughed maniacally.

"What. The. Hell," Sophie commented, shocked.

"How did _we_ ruin his prom?" Hikaru asked. "It's not like he was banned or anything… Right?"

Wherever he was projecting from, he probably couldn't hear the girls, but nonetheless he immediately answered the question.

"How dare you… All of you! Why should you be allowed to bring whomever you want for dates, but I'm not allowed to bring a crab? It's discrimination, crabby crab!"

"You've got to be kidding me," Gin said incredulously. With the added lighting from the bright screen, she'd managed to find her way to Kyoya and had no intention of leaving his side anytime soon. Kyoya looked pretty ticked off.

"This is all because he wanted to bring a crab as his date?" Zina wondered. Chris appeared to be holding in laughter.

"And now, because I couldn't bring my date, just one little crab, I'm bringing all the crabs! Be free, my friends!" Tetsuya raised his arms up, cackled, and the planetarium went dark again as the projection vanished. Except this time, it was briefly silent as everyone took in what Tetsuya had said. Then, there was a soft sound that seemed to be growing louder. The strange, faint noise broke through the quiet din. As though the source was coming closer.

Christina leaned her ear up against the wall, gripping Bao's hand in hers and grateful for the welcome touch. It sounded like… scuttling. Her eyes widened in realization. It was still pitch black and everyone was freaking out, but she had to get the message out to her classmates.

"Guys!" she shouted. "Crabs are coming!"

No sooner than she'd finished speaking did a little bit of light pour into the room from one of the doors slowly opening, allowing the students to see barrage of crabs rushing into the room. If it hadn't already been, the room truly exploded in mass hysteria. Only this time, all of the doors appeared to be open. Students flooded out of them in waves, running away from the crabs as fast as possible. There had to be hundreds of them crawling around the room now.

Christina and Bao didn't waste a second. They forced their way through the raging crowd towards the nearest exit, then ran straight down the hall. Unfortunately, the door didn't lead out of the building, so they had to put their trust in blind faith and just go with it. They'd pulled ahead of the other students running with them, but they could still hear the crabs not far behind.

She stopped just for a second to pull off her silver heels, knowing they'd have better luck escaping without them. She picked them up and took off again just as the first crab came into sight. She didn't stop to think how close that could've been, her mind racing.

"In here!" Bao shouted. He opened a door and the two of them scrambled inside. Bao slammed it shut, then pressed his body up against the wall to keep anyone else from getting in. There was a pounding of feet as students ran past, followed by scuttling. By the sound of the manic stampede roaring past, it didn't seem like anyone was interested in finding a room to hide in anyway. Christina didn't want to think about how many crabs they'd fled from. She was more than a little irritated, and Tetsuya was seriously going to get it once this was all over. She worried about Zina and Chris, but was confident they were doing okay wherever they were.

Bao flicked on the light. They were in an office, nothing too exciting. There were several big filing cabinets off to one side and a few plants tucked away in a corner. He checked to make sure the door was locked tight and sat in one of the chairs, thinking.

Christina sat at the large desk in the back of the room and slipped her heels back on. She stuck her feet up on top of the desk, wondering whom it belonged to and if that person was around right now. She immediately put her feet back down. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to get caught lounging around. Instead she propped her elbows up on the desk and rested her head.

"So… What do we do now?" she asked.

Bao shrugged. "I'm not sure there's much we can do. Wait for all this to pass? Maybe once the crabs are gone, we can get back into the planetarium and get out the way we came."

Christina frowned. That wasn't exactly the answer she was hoping for, but for the moment she didn't have any ideas either. Waiting in the office was better than going out now to face what waiting for them there. Being with Bao was a huge consolation at the very least. She hated to think of being alone in this. Hopefully everyone else was doing just as well.

She had no service on her cell. "Can you check your phone? We need to meet up with Chris and Zina again if we do that. I don't want to leave them stranded."

Bao complied, then groaned. "Nothing. But you're right; we can't leave them here. I think our best shot is to try and get out of here first, and hope they have the same idea and meet us at the car. If they aren't there, we'll look at our options then."

Christina nodded. "Yeah. They're smart. I bet they're trying to get to the car, too. We'll probably see them on the way out." She cocked an ear toward the door, but to her dismay she still heard a soft scuttling. She grimaced. "Seems like we might be stuck in here for a while."

* * *

Stella stopped short while King and Masamune plowed on ahead of her.

"Wait!" she panted, reaching her hand out. In her other she held up the back of her high-low skirt, keeping it from tripping her. Normally, she could run in heels fairly well, but the addition of the heavy dress was not making it easy. Neither was trying to keep up with two hyperactive teenage boys. Nevertheless, she was glad they'd gotten away from that ridiculous onslaught of crabs. What had Tetsuya been thinking?

Oh, right. He hadn't been. He had some crazed desire for revenge and now that was everyone's problem.

The boys froze, also taking a minute to catch their breath. Only then did Stella realize they'd stopped just inches in front of a small dinosaur skeleton that was surrounded by a maroon velvet rope. That would've been a nightmare had they knocked it over. Stella didn't want to think of the consequences for damaging irreplaceable sixty-five million year old remains.

Although, she thought with relief, they could've nearly run into the giant tyrannosaur skeleton off to her left that stood just barely below the ceiling. And luckily the pterodactyl skeleton was hanging from the ceiling, so there was no way they could bring any harm to that.

Then again, she considered the company she was with.

They'd found themselves in the dinosaur and fossil exhibit. Definitely one of the cooler rooms she remembered from her childhood and it seemed to have expanded even more since then.

On the floor were a variety of prehistoric dinosaur footprints made out of plaster, so kids could walk alongside them and compare them to their own shoe sizes, and on the back wall in a glass frame were several fossils of ancient flora. Another case of fossils- this time those of animals- was just ahead in front of them, past the little skeleton. Had they not been in such a rush under the circumstances, Stella would've taken the time to read some of the descriptions written on the wall plaques.

But considering the situation, there were much, much more pressing matters.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Stella wondered aloud. Tetsuya had more or less accomplished his goal of ruining prom, but getting the dance back on track really wasn't her biggest priority at the moment. At least they'd made it through dessert first. King and Masamune would've been utterly inconsolable otherwise and that was the last thing she needed to deal with.

Neither of them seemed too concerned with their predicament. Both were fixated on the replica prehistoric vine environment, and Stella got the uneasy feeling they were contemplating swinging from it.

"Guys," she called, trying to sound a touch annoyed to get their attention by adding a slight edge to her voice. King perked up and came over, but Masamune's attention remained thoroughly stuck on the vines. Stella sighed. That would have to do. As much as she admired their free spirits, it was time to take things kind of seriously.

Not that she wouldn't have thought about swinging on those vines, too, given the opportunity.

"What's up? Everything okay?" King asked as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

Stella nearly rolled her eyes, but refrained at the last second. "Other than prom being overrun by an army of crabs," she smiled. King kissed her forehead. "But shouldn't we be concerned with getting out of here? We're kind of trapped."

"Heck no!" Masamune shouted, now happily swinging back and forth from the vine he'd been staring so intently at. "We're finally out of that stuffy planetarium and we've got the whole place to ourselves!"

Stella sighed. There was no way they could go back the way they came, not with the crabs still skulking around. She didn't exactly have any other idea to get them out. Wandering in search of an exit would probably only serve to get them more lost. Leading the other two to another exhibit, especially ones that were more "hands-on" didn't seem to be in her best interests either. Her phone wasn't working for some reason, so she had no way of finding out where the others were. Wasn't it best in this kind of situation to just stay where they were? If they stayed, they might have a better chance of running into others, and there was strength in numbers after all.

King looked at the vines longingly. Stella shrugged.

"You know what? You're right. Might as well have some fun while we can." With that, Stella grabbed her own vine. At least prom would be memorable.

* * *

Aurora's lungs felt ready to burst, but she kept going, the only thing tethering her to reality Nile's hand wrapped tightly around hers. She was having the worst time trying to figure out what had happened.

Being declared prom queen- the tiara was still on her head, now that she thought about it- had come as a major shock, and she still hadn't come to terms with it when the whole crab mess started. She focused on moving her feet forward, trying to break everything down and process it.

Somehow she'd won the crown, even though she knew Sophie was the expected winner. At least, she was the one Aurora expected to win. Aurora wasn't even sure how she'd ended up on the prom court in the first place. Granted, some part of her had definitely been a bit excited, but she never expected to actually win. Then she remembered that sneaky smile Sophie had given her earlier. Was it too much to think Sophie had a hand in getting Aurora to this point? She wasn't sure.

And then Nile was king! The whole thing was so surreal. She couldn't believe she'd been seconds away from dancing with him- in front of half the school, no less- when everything went to hell.

She still couldn't wrap her head around the crab thing, but honestly, she wasn't going to bother. There were way, way too many other things. Well, she wasn't going to worry about it beyond finding a safe place as soon as possible. But she trusted Nile would figure that out. He seemed like he had some sort of plan.

A door was wide open on the left and they raced inside. Nile slammed the door shut, then grabbed a nearby chair, propping it against the door handle so nothing could open it.

There was a decent-sized rug on the floor, with a whiteboard against one of the walls. Several chairs were set up in the back of the room along the wall.

"This is one of the classrooms," Aurora whispered, mostly to herself. She recognized the room from one of the field trips they'd taken to the science center years ago. She could see her younger self sitting on that rug, surrounded by classmates, as the staff taught them about whatever the subject matter was for that unit. One time they'd come for a lecture on plants, and a bunch of different species were passed around the room. She remembered holding a small, growing palm tree in her hands.

"So." Nile collapsed into one of the chairs at the back of the room, his breath ragged from running. "Looks like we're gonna be here a while."

"Yup." Aurora sat down in the chair across from him, apprehensively crossing her legs. She was only now realizing that she was about to have much more one-on-one time with her crush at prom than anticipated.

Nile took the crown off his head and gestured towards it as he placed it on an empty table. "Pretty crazy, huh?"

Aurora reached up and touched her tiara. "Crazy's an understatement. I'm not even sure how I got on the court."

"Me neither," Nile shrugged. "Guess that doesn't matter too much now."

Aurora had to laugh at that. "No, I guess not."

"Still, I'm sure plenty of girls are gonna be jealous of you now once this is all over." He added offhandedly, "If they aren't already that is."

Aurora tilted her head in confusion. "What?"

"Well, you're prom queen. Even if it did get interrupted, that doesn't change anything. I bet a bunch of girls wanted that title." Nile's complexion suddenly reddened. "And, well, you're… really pretty."

"Oh," Aurora felt her own cheeks heat up. "Um, thank you."

Nile gave her a small smile. "So, uh, yeah, our 'big moment' might've been a bust, but at least we got away from those crabs."

"Yeah," Aurora shuddered. "What a nightmare." She wondered how Nile felt about their "big moment" being interrupted.

Nile got up and peeked out the small window in the door. "I don't see any crabs… but that doesn't mean they aren't around. We should probably stay here, at least for a few minutes."

Aurora got up as well, and walked over to the whiteboard. She grabbed one of the markers. "Works for me," she murmured, and started doodling. "What's the plan once we can leave? Finding an exit?"

"Probably," Nile decided. "Unless you really want to go back to the planetarium."

As much as she did like looking up at the stars, it would be much more satisfying to get outside, and then look up at the _real_ night sky. "Let's get out of here."

Nile came over to here and picked up one of the free markers. "Works for me." He started writing on the board. Aurora looked over and her breath caught for a moment.

He'd written "Nile & Aurora, Prom King and Queen."

Nile shrugged, then ducked his a head a little, but not before she could see it was red again. "What? It's true, and honestly since we got ripped off, people should know." He gave her a cheeky grin.

Aurora smiled back. Impulsively, she reached out and took his hand. Nile looked surprised, but pleased. "Definitely."

* * *

Madoka and Sophie were sitting at one of the tables in the small cafeteria, while Wales double-checked all the doors were locked and Gingka fruitlessly searched the kitchen area for anything that might help them. The girls would've joined, but neither thought there was much merit when all they really needed was an exit. They suspected Gingka had other reasons for wanting to search the kitchen anyway.

They had been fortunate to come across one early on, but it seemed to have been locked from the outside. No matter how much they pushed, the door had refused to open. They were taking a quick pause in the cafeteria just to catch their breath and regroup.

Sophie had her head in her hand, no longer particularly worried about messing up the free strands of hair framing her face. "Ugh."

Madoka sighed. "You can say that again. How exactly did we get to this point?"

Sophie looked up. "I don't know, but as soon as we get out of here, I'm taking one of those crabs and beating Tetsuya over the head with it," she joked.

Madoka laughed. "Can't really blame you there." Her face softened. "So, how are you-"

"Is this about me not being crowned prom queen?" Sophie grinned. "Because I promise, I'm not bitter. If there's anyone I'd want to lose to, it's Aurora."

Madoka nodded. "Of course."

"Honestly, I'm really happy for her," Sophie lowered her voice. "I did kind of have a hand in her getting on the ballot, but if she got more votes than me, fair is fair. And who knows, maybe it was totally random and she just happened to get the red rose by chance when they handed them out. But it doesn't matter. If she won, it's because she deserved to."

"Wait, what do you mean you helped her get on the ballot?"

Sophie sighed. "Don't tell her I told you this, but Aurora has a crush on Nile, and from what she told me he totally likes her, too. But I know Aurora, and she won't act on it. She didn't want me to get involved, but I- well, I did. I started convincing people to vote for them and I guess word got around fast. But regardless, she definitely won this on her own. People wouldn't have voted her just because I told them to. It's because she's a nice, genuine person and people like that. All I did was give her a little push. I know I probably shouldn't have, but I really want her to have this happiness. I can tell she and Nile will be so happy together, and I don't want her to miss that opportunity. And what happens next is entirely up to them. I'm not interfering any further."

"I can see why you did it," Madoka said. "At this point, it doesn't matter. Let's just hope it works out for them."

The corners of Sophie's mouth perked up. "Oh, it will. She had the chance to follow us when this whole thing started. She wasn't _that_ far away. But guess who she ran off with?" Sophie's eyes sparkled.

Wales and Gingka rejoined them at that moment. Gingka groaned. "There's nothing that can help us! And worse I couldn't even find any food!"

Sophie's eyes widened. "Aren't you the one who went back to the buffet table three times?"

"It wasn't nearly enough!"

Wales settled into the seats. "Forget about food. We need a game plan. One of the exits was blocked. Does that mean they all are, or were we just really unlucky?"

"It's hard to say," Madoka took Gingka's hand as he sat down, silently consoling him as he mumbled about burgers. "We need to find another door. Do you think the crabs are still around?"

Sophie snorted. "Undoubtedly. If Tetsuya's still here, the crabs are here. And I can't imagine he's left. Not if he's enjoying the… chaos he's created."

"Tetsuya's the real issue," Wales mused, leaning back in his chair. His gelled hair had gotten messed up with all the running around they'd been doing. "Which means, if we can't get out, we need to find him."

"But he could be anywhere!" Gingka mentioned. "This place is huge."

"Well, we know when this began, he must've been in the projector room. Or at the very least wherever they have the equipment to project the night sky into the planetarium. Which quite honestly, could even have been in some corner of the planetarium. Everyone was so fixated on the prom court announcement, I don't think anyone would've noticed him there," Madoka explained.

"Wherever he was, I doubt he's there now," Sophie frowned. "So the question is, where would a guy like him hide?"

* * *

Gin and Kyoya sat on the floor of the small observatory. Gin drew shapes on the carpet with her finger, bored out of her mind. She'd taken off her black heels to give her feet a break. Kyoya had an irritated look permanently etched on his face.

It wasn't that Gin didn't want to be stuck alone in a room with him- quite the opposite, really, but definitely not under these circumstances.

As soon as they'd escaped the planetarium, they'd run up the first set of stairs they could find, which turned out to not be terribly far. The hope was that the crabs couldn't climb the stairs, but they weren't entirely sure and neither of them was about to test that theory. Now was not the time to be taking risks. Kyoya had slammed the door shut the moment they confirmed the room was empty, other than the giant telescope taking up most of the space. Kyoya was sitting with his back to the door, just in case, but they'd locked it and no one had any chance of getting in.

Gin looked up at Kyoya, biting her lip, but he was facing away from her. This was the first real alone time they'd spent together since he'd met her at the entrance of the building just a few short hours ago. In that time, so much had changed. They hadn't even had a chance to talk about it.

And now that they had all the time in the world to talk, Gin suddenly felt nervous.

Kyoya definitely liked her. He'd made that obvious. So far, they'd spent most of their time in the observatory in silence, mentally going over what'd happened on their own. Gin wasn't even sure how much time had passed. It was all kind of blurry.

But she knew they couldn't sit there in silence _forever_.

"Maybe we should go back down," Gin suggested. "The crabs have probably run off to other parts of the building by now."

Kyoya glanced over at her, a look of deep concentration on his face. "I'm not so sure. I don't know where Tetsuya is, and he's the real threat." A look of contempt passed over him. "If you can call him that."

"He may not be a threat, but he's certainly a nuisance," Gin agreed.

"I doubt he has anything planned beyond sending all those crabs out. His plan seems shortsighted. But I still don't trust him."

Gin nodded. "It's probably better we stay up here a little while longer anyways. I'm sure the faculty is already handling it. They might even have it under control by the time we get out of here." She stood up, and walked over to the telescope. She peered into it, trying to get a feel for how it worked so she could see some actual stars, but it was much more complicated than anything she'd ever encountered before. And enormous. She didn't want to mess around with it too much. If for some reason the telescope was loose and fell over then the two of them were in big trouble.

She was just distracting herself. With the night not going anywhere near expected, it was seriously complicating things. But now the two of them were alone in the room and had to face where they were and what it meant sooner rather than later. Ideally, the night would've ended on a high note and Gin was still optimistic it could, but now things were just a touch awkward. They could only dance around the subject for so long.

Either they were going to become a couple, or they weren't. Gin was positive that was what they both wanted, but she wasn't about to push Kyoya. It'd only been a few weeks since his last relationship ended and she didn't want him to jump in completely if he wasn't ready. It wasn't a decision that needed to be made tonight anyway.

But… They at least needed to kind of talk. If he wasn't ready, then both of them likely needed to take a step back for a bit before rushing into anything serious. Deciding now was as good a time as ever, Gin walked back over to Kyoya and sat next to him.

"So are you regretting your change of heart about coming to prom now?" she asked in a teasing tone.

Kyoya rolled his eyes. "That's a loaded question. But, no. I'm still glad I came. Even if I'm spending my evening hiding out from a gauntlet of raging crabs."

"I'm really glad you came, too." She took both of his hands in hers, looking up at him with her dark eyes. "It's been crazy, but I'm still having fun. It's worth it."

Kyoya's blue eyes met hers with a smoldering gaze. "It absolutely is." Then he leaned in close.

The kiss took her completely by surprise, but she welcomed it and realized that maybe she had been wrong. Maybe they didn't need to talk the way she'd worried after all.

Maybe everything was going to be perfectly okay.

* * *

**Initially, Doji or someone similar was going to be the villain. Then I thought, this would be much more fun XD While I've got your attention, if you would like your character to swap outfits for the afterparty or if they have any drink/food preferences, please let me know!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A timely update? From me? What is this? XD Don't get used to it, though, we've got one chapter to go after this! And that one is set to be the longest yet, so it's going to take me a while to tie everything up nicely, but I promise it'll be worth the wait! Honestly, I can't believe this story is currently the second longest I've written on this site... This wasn't supposed to happen! XD I'm so shocked this somehow ended up being longer than _A Summer to Remember_. **

**Some shameless self-promotion while I've got you here, I've started writing another OC-centric story that I'm really excited for. I still need one more female OC, so please PM me ASAP if you're interested. If you've liked my writing in this story, here's your chance to join another! You've got until I update the next chapter of that story to submit. :D**

**Thank you GinMado for your review! Yes, Tetsuya is here to ruin your prom. Wait til you see his outfit.**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

Zina risked a peek out of the little alcove she and Chris had stowed away in. It'd been quiet for a while now- too quiet, actually.

She wished she and Chris could've found their way back to that secret little sitting room earlier to hide out there instead. Honestly, with the way things had gone, they should've just skipped dessert and spent the rest of the night in that room. Her heart raced a little at the thought and she laughed in spite of herself, using her hand to stifle the noise so Chris wouldn't think anything of it.

Most of the crabs seemed to have long since passed them. Tucked out of sight, they were barely visible unless anyone was really looking. The entire time Chris had held her hand and without saying anything they'd agreed it was more important than anything to keep quiet.

After a while, though, that was starting to get boring. At this point, Zina was pretty sure they were in the clear.

She sighed and Chris gave her a warning look, but Zina just shook her head. She peered out the alcove again.

The hallway was definitely empty.

"We should go now," Zina whispered, gesturing to the bare corridor. "While it's safe."

"I don't know…" Chris shifted. "It might be better to wait."

"We should get back to the car," Zina argued. "Christina and Bao might already be there, and they can't leave without us."

At the mention of his sister, Chris's head snapped to attention. "Yeah, you're right," he relented. "If I know Crissie, she's already there. But we have to be careful."

Zina nodded. "Of course."

Almost hesitantly, Chris leaned forward and closed the gap between them, giving her a soft kiss. Zina marveled, wondering if she would ever get over how perfectly amazing it felt.

Chris cautiously took a step out, glancing in all directions before motioning for Zina to follow his lead. She instantly fell in step with him, careful keeping an eye on their surroundings. If she heard so much as a pin drop, she'd be making a mad dash for the nearest exit.

Chris must've paid close attention while they were running, because he seemed to know the way back to planetarium fairly well. A few twists and turns, and Zina was starting to recognize the hallways herself.

They came upon one of the many doors that led into the planetarium. It was closed shut.

"Ready?" Chris asked and Zina took a deep breath. There was no telling what waited for them beyond that door. Worst-case scenario, probably more crabs. But they had to take that risk. He slowly pulled it open, just enough to get a quick, peripheral look inside.

The planetarium was pitch black. Zina whipped out her temporarily useless phone and turned on the flashlight. At least that was still functional. Texting and Wi-Fi capacities on the other hand seemed to be out for the time being.

Zina shoved her hand through the gap in the doorway, forcing her phone to light up the room. It was too big to be sure without the room completely lit, but the eerie quietness suggested it was empty.

"Okay. Let's go." Chris took her free hand again and squeezed it tight.

Together, they crept into the dark room. Zina's flashlight swept over the unoccupied tables, illuminating abandoned dessert plates at every one. She shuddered. It was kind of creepy.

They were making their way towards the door, when another burst of light filtered into the room. Zina stiffened and felt Chris do the same.

"What do we do?" she whispered anxiously. "It's too late to hide the light." She gulped, considering hiding beneath a tablecloth if that would save her.

The other light drew closer and closer to them as Zina and Chris tried to inch more and more inconspicuously towards the door. Zina had doused her flashlight as much as she could without leaving them in total darkness. Whoever else was with him had done the same, because Zina couldn't see them anymore either.

Finally, they reached the door handle. Zina placed her hand on the cool metal.

And promptly screamed as someone else did the same thing.

It was chaos. Whoever Zina had touched had also cried out. Chris shouted. For a few moments, that was all that could be heard. Zina stopped panicking for a minute to listen.

Something about that shriek sounded familiar.

"Christina?" she whispered in the darkness.

The other scream stopped. "Zina? Chris? Is that you?"

The other person brought their light up again. She and Chris were face to face with Christina and Bao.

It would've been funny, had the situation not been so terrifying.

Bao was the first to act, pushing on the door handle Zina and Christina had forgotten since their initial scare. The four of them cleared out of the planetarium and into the lobby where they'd first entered the building.

Christina hugged them. "I'm so glad you guys are okay."

"You, too," Chris grinned. "Now let's get out of here."

He walked over to the exit and pushed against the door. He tugged on it. Chris frowned. He tried the door next to it to no avail.

Bao groaned and brought his hand up to his head, gripping his hair. "Don't tell me. We're stuck here, aren't we?"

Chris turned to face him, a grim look on his face. "Looks like it, unless you've got a better idea."

* * *

Mei Mei looked around the corridor worriedly, wondering how she'd possibly managed to get herself into such a messy situation.

She was all alone in some unfamiliar area of the science center, with no idea what to do or where to go next. She deeply regretted not trying to find her friends when everyone had rushed out of the planetarium, but there was no time for that now. Hopefully, she could find her way back or maybe run into some other students. She didn't care who- well, maybe not Tetsuya, but any company would be welcome.

She turned back around to face the way she came. Going back was probably her only option, if she was being realistic. The deeper she went into the building, the less likely she'd run into anyone or be able to find her way back.

Unfortunately, going back was easier said than done. As she started back, she realized the hallways split in so many different directions she wasn't sure where to start. She hadn't really paid attention to what way she was going when she was running.

Mei Mei sighed, holding her pink kitten heels in her hand. The heel might've been small, but even still running in them had been far from ideal. She'd taken them off the minute she thought she was in the clear.

A soft sound in the otherwise quiet hallway made her freeze. There was no way…

Scuttling. It was definitely scuttling.

_How_ were they still pursuing her this far? Didn't they have someone else to chase?

Exhaustion and fear nearly made her burst into tears on the spot. This couldn't be real.

Gathering her what was left of her strength, Mei Mei picked up her feet and starting running again as the first few crabs came into sight.

She turned fast, and bumped into a table with a display set up. Local science fair projects from the nearby elementary school, she assumed. In the process, she dropped her shoes, but there was no time to pick them up. The crabs were already closing in.

Tears blurred at the corner of her vision, but she refused to be daunted. Mei Mei yanked a door open just wide enough for her to fit and squeezed inside. As she as she'd shut the door, she could hear crabs scraping up against it, but she knew for the time she was safe. There was no feasible way the sea creatures could possibly reach the door handle.

"Mei Mei?"

She screamed.

"Woah, woah, calm down! It's me."

She whirled around and saw Chao Xin standing next to the door on the other side of the room. Her legs ached to collapse, but instead she rushed over to him and wrapped him in a hug, refusing to let go.

"Hey, it's okay," he comforted. "What happened?"

Mei Mei stepped away, fast brushing lingering tears away from her eyes so he wouldn't see. "Sorry. It's just been crazy. I've been running all over and I still haven't managed to shake those crabs."

Chao Xin nodded. "This place is like a maze. I'm not even sure how I got here."

Mei Mei leaned against the wall and sank down into a seated position. "I lost my shoes, too." She didn't really care about them, but it felt nice to have a "normal" problem, if just for a moment.

Chao Xin eased down to sit next to her. He looked at her earnestly with his big, beautiful eyes that she felt she could get lost in. "We'll find them, don't worry. And we're gonna get out of here."

Mei Mei felt herself nod, though she felt a bit disconnected. Chao Xin stood up, offering her his hand. She took it. She felt unsteady as she stood up, but there was no chance she'd all. Not after he put his arm around her waist. Her heart was beating so fast.

This was definitely something, or it felt like it anyway. The way he kept looking at her, his arm constantly around her or holding her some other way, it had to be. She'd danced with him a little earlier, but this was different. There were no other girls around. She had his full, undivided attention, just like earlier when they'd taken that selfie at the Gardens. Her stomach danced.

Had he already forgotten about the other girl he'd wanted to ask to prom? He'd seemed down about the rejection, but it _was_ possible. He hadn't known her very long so maybe his feelings for her hadn't run that deep. The disappointment he felt could've been from the shock of rejection more than anything else. What did that mean for Mei Mei, though? Her mind was swimming with questions. Was her crush not as unrequited as she thought after all?

The two of them walked over to the door Mei Mei had come through. After a cursory glance out the door, they deemed it safe.

Chao Xin held her hand again. "C'mon. Let's go get your shoes."

* * *

Hikaru wasn't sure whether the furious flutter in her stomach was from nerves or something more. When the crowd had exploded in a tizzy, she'd run down the first small empty hallway she could find to get away from the panic. The last thing she wanted was to be caught up in all the chaos. That being said, it hadn't taken her long to realize her small empty hallway wasn't that empty after all.

And there was nowhere to hide once Ryuga cast his smoldering glance on her. Hikaru's grip tightened around the yellow rose she still held in her left hand.

Somehow, she'd lost sight of Sophie and Madoka along the way. The three of them had initially stuck together, but unfortunately the situation didn't allow for that to last. After they'd been separated, it'd taken her a moment to regain her bearings and by then they were lost to her.

So now she stood roughly ten feet away from the white-haired teen, unsure of what that meant. He'd seen her though, so she might as well acknowledge it,

"H-Hey," she called out, feeling distinctly uncool.

"What are you doing here?" Annoyance was clear as day in Ryuga's voice.

Her first instinct was to apologize, but then she realized she wasn't about to give him that satisfaction. Why should she? It wasn't like he owned this particular hallway.

"Getting away from the action. Same as you," she responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

Ryuga regarded her for a moment. "Whatever," he said finally. He pointed up ahead. Just barely through the dim lighting, Hikaru could see that the hall split. "Once we get there, I'm going right. Don't follow me."

Hikaru bristled. Who was he to tell her what to do? "Oh, and I suppose if you find a way out, you'll come back and tell me, huh?"

Ryuga rolled his eyes. "This is why I work alone."

When they reached the fork, Hikaru paused. She was about to begrudgingly follow his directions (she thought there was more light coming from the left and honestly it wasn't worth following someone who didn't want her around anyway), but she heard something unsettling. It sounded vaguely familiar, but too far away to confidently identify.

Ryuga looked down the right and cursed.

"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered.

"What?"

"Just go." Ryuga pushed her, surprisingly gentle, and they took off to the left.

After a moment of running, he didn't need to tell her why his plans had rapidly changed.

Crabs.

The hallway didn't go on for long before the end came into view. And unfortunately, this one didn't split. They were facing a dead end.

Ryuga cursed again. There was only one door in the hallway, and that was their only shot. He jiggled the doorknob.

It wouldn't open.

"C'mon!" Ryuga pulled harder.

The crabs were already bearing down on them. Thinking fast, Hikaru pulled one of the few bobby pins she had out of her hair. She bent it straight and passed it to him.

"Here."

Ryuga wasted no time. He shoved the pin into the keyhole, wrestled with it for a second and the door sprung open. She raised an eyebrow. He ushered her inside, just as a crab swiped for her ankle. She barely had time to contemplate where- or why- he'd learned to pick a lock so quickly.

Teeny crabs claws attempted to reach under the doorway and force their way in, but it was over. For the time being, they were safe. When Hikaru turned her gaze up from the floor, and noticed Ryuga was looking at her again. This time, he wasn't looking at her contempt so much as…

For some reason, Ryuga almost looked impressed as he stared at her with those liquid gold eyes. Unnerved, Hikaru broke eye contact first to survey the room.

The room was filled from floor to ceiling with tv screens, and several desks set up for viewing those screens.

"Security," Ryuga muttered. "Whatever. This is better than I expected." He sat down at one of the chairs, watching the movement on the screens.

Hikaru took another chair and used to wheels to scoot herself next to him. "What are you looking for?" she asked. The top screen left showed an empty room with exhibits on volcanoes and molten rock. Another room showed a hallway with crabs scuttling down it.

Hikaru placed her hand on the desk, accidentally brushing Ryuga's in the process. She flushed and felt her heart rate increase, but he didn't seem to notice. In fact, his hand lingered for a moment where she'd touched it before he moved it.

Ryuga turned to face her. "Tetsuya. That moron's got to be around here somewhere." He reached out and grabbed the arm of her chair, pulling her closer. "Help me look."

With their close proximity, Hikaru was confident he could hear her rapid pulse, but did her best to keep a straight face. The last time they'd been this close was when they were waiting to figure out who won prom king and queen.

Hikaru's eyes swam over the screens, searching. "Y'know, I'm really glad I didn't win queen after that stunt Masamune pulled." She'd placed the yellow rose on the desk when they'd first come in and peered over at it now.

Ryuga had long since ditched his own rose, but he stared at hers. "I don't know what that idiot was thinking, but he's gonna get it when this is over," Ryuga snorted.

Hikaru laughed. "Count me in. He's gotta pay."

She was shocked when Ryuga gave her a small smile. He quickly looked away, then pointed at one of the middle screens.

"Got him," he said in a gruff voice. "There's our crab man."

* * *

Marcos and Lera were safely contained in the light and sound room exhibit. Marcos had followed after Lera as soon as the room had erupted, wanting to make sure she stayed safe. Up in the prom court line, she had been too far away from Aleksei and Nowaguma to make it back to them and he wanted to be there for backup if she needed it. There was always safety in numbers.

Luckily, sticking with Lera was proving to be more of an asset than anything. It turned out she frequented the science center quite often, and for obvious reasons she was most familiar with the space exhibits, so she'd been able to lead them through that section of the enormous building quickly and efficiently.

She never failed to amaze him and Marcos found herself constantly enamored by that fact. He was more than content to be on his own most of the time, but her company had never bothered him, rather it had made the world more exciting and remarkable. He couldn't understand the effect she had on him. It was fascinating.

He pushed his glasses back up on his nose. More than ever, he was quite pleased he'd come to prom. In more ways than one, the situation had become very interesting. Tetsuya had presented them with a unique challenge and Marcos was more than up to it.

Lera walked over to the circular light tunnel in the center of the room. It was large, and entirely made of metal. She pressed a button on a stand in front of it, and the tunnel started to glow, first red, then changing to orange, and so on in the colors of the rainbow.

"This was one of my favorite exhibits as a kid," Lera commented softly. "Other than the space ones, of course."

Marcos nodded. "I can see why. It's beautiful."

Lera pressed a second button, and a little light show began in the tunnel. She took Marcos by the hand, surprising him once more and led him into the tunnel. He glanced upward, watching circles of glowing pink dance around him.

Lera had let go of his hand and was also looking up at the top of the tunnel in wonder. "I'd forgotten what it's like," she murmured. "It's nice."

"Well, anything's better than being chased by angry crustaceans," Marcos joked.

Lera smiled, looking back at him straight into his eyes. "Naturally." Her voice softened again. "I wanted to thank you… I never would've had this opportunity if you hadn't convinced me to bike to prom with you."

Marcos was taken aback. Of all the things he'd expected her to say just now, it certainly wasn't that. An easy smile crossed his face, too as he relaxed. "Of course. I'm glad you agreed to come."

"Me, too. This has been a crazy night, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I mean, I even ended up on the prom court!" Lera laughed. "I never could've imagined that happening. So, thank you. This has been an incredible experience."

"I can't say that I would either, my dear."

They fell into silence, watching the lights as they continued to swirl above. Marcos felt something between them, he was positive of it. There was some sort of electricity, a static charge. Similar to Lera, he couldn't have imagined this happening, especially not when he thought back to the day weeks ago she'd bumped into him with a pile of books and papers at school, but he was so pleased it had. He was more than content to let this current moment play out for as long as it needed.

Still, his mind was constantly thinking. There was something obvious in all of this that he was missing, and he couldn't rest until he figured it out. There was no way someone like Tetsuya was smarter than him. Marcos was a master of strategy and he'd yet to meet a game that could daunt his intellect. He'd won awards for chess and various war games. Compared to those, this, a silly little high school squabble if it could even be called that, was nothing.

His mind whirled until he settled on a singular thought. The answer had been in front of him all along. A large grin split across his face.

"Lera, do you know where all the exhibits in the center are?" Marcos asked.

"Most of them, but not all," Lera admitted. She tilted her head questioningly. "Why?"

Marcos replied smoothly, "Because there's only one place I can think of where a crab would hide."

* * *

Dashan and Ninel had already passed through a weather exhibit and now found themselves in the middle of a "rainforest", but Ninel was in no mood to stick around. She confidently strode through the room, pushing aside fake leaves blocking her path to get to the door on the other side.

"How big _is_ this place?" she groaned, the question more rhetorical than anything. It felt like they'd been running forever and she was ready for it to be over.

"I'm sure we're coming up on a main exit soon," Dashan replied. He left out what they both already knew: that so far they'd come across multiple emergency exit doors, and all of them had been inaccessible.

"Tetsuya is so going to get it," Ninel commented stubbornly. "Who does he think he is?" She wrenched open the door and once again they were in another barren hallway.

Dashan took her hand comfortingly. "This will be over soon enough," he soothed. "Tetsuya will be taken care of."

"I guess," Ninel relented. She smiled. "Prom may have been a massive disaster, but did you hear about the after party going on later? I think we should go, if you're interested."

"Of course. There's no reason not to, especially now." His eyes told her what he didn't say: that no matter what, if she was going, then he was going, too. The thought made her feel safe and warm.

She led the way down the corridor, unsure of where she was going, but refusing to let the challenge daunt her. In an incredibly twisted way, this was just like a tough swim meet. If she wanted to win, then she was going to rise to the challenge.

Ninel never backed down from a challenge.

They came upon yet another closed door. She doubted it was a way out, but after over half an hour of traipsing around the science center, Ninel was willing to try anything. Dashan hung back behind her, keeping any eye out for any potential danger. Knowing he had her back was the best feeling in the world. It was impossible to tell if Tetsuya had anything else up his sleeve, but at least they would be prepared for the worst.

She pushed open the door, into the ocean exhibit. A diagram faced her on the wall directly across from her, detailing the different zones of the ocean from pelagic to benthic. The wall next to that had a small aquarium tank filling up the entire space, with brightly colored fish swimming contentedly. She noticed a hands-on tide pool next to it, with nothing but ocean plants living inside.

Several other displays were set up, but Ninel hardly paid them any attention, sighing as she realized they'd hit another dead end. If nothing else, they could pass through this room and then… On to the next exhibit, she supposed. That seemed to be the theme so far.

Ninel gasped. Sitting way in the back of the room was Tetsuya, surrounded by a bunch of crabs in all his glory. He wore a tuxedo with bright orange crab prints all over it, blissfully unaware. His bowtie was in the shape of a crab. Tetsuya sat atop a large platform, part of a display diagramming the different parts of a wave. He hadn't noticed her yet. Ninel yanked her head out of the room and closed the door very carefully. Dashan looked at her in confusion.

"Tetsuya's in there," she whispered. His eyes lit up in understanding. "What should we do?"

Just then, Marcos and Lera appeared, with Ryuga and Hikaru hot on their heels. Sophie, Madoka, Gingka, and Wales weren't too far behind either.

"What are you all doing here?" Ninel asked, still keeping her voice low. "I found Tetsuya. We can't let him know we're here."

Marcos nodded. "This is the ocean exhibit, yes? It's exactly where one would expect to find him. You're certain he's in there?"

"Absolutely," Dashan confirmed. "Ninel just saw him. We haven't gone in the room yet, so I don't think he realizes we've found him."

A loud noise began echoing down the hall. It sounded like several people were coming, their voices oddly familiar.

Lera's eyes widened. "We have to stop them before he hears!"

"I've got it," Hikaru nodded. She rushed down the hall in search of the disruption. After a moment's hesitation, Ryuga followed her.

Zina, Chris, Christina, and Bao were fast approaching. Hikaru cut them off, waving her arms and frantically shushing them wildly. "We found him!" she hissed. "We've got Tetsuya!" Ryuga folded his arms defiantly behind her.

Christina arched an eyebrow. "Really? Perfect. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." Her hand curled into a perfect fist.

Hikaru shook her head. "No! We can't just barge in there. Follow me. A bunch of us are nearby. We're trying to come up with a plan." The four of them followed her back to where the others waited outside the door. Mei Mei and Chao Xin were also waiting there once they arrived, standing very close to each other.

Marcos had begun to take control of the situation. "According to what Lera's said, there's a second door leading out of the exhibit. Some of us need to go over there to block it so he can't escape out that way. It should take roughly five minutes to get there without being able to directly through the room."

"Someone's going to have to go in there eventually," Wales argued. "We can't just let him sit there and get away with it."

"So who do we send in?" Ninel asked.

More noise echoed down the hallway. Hikaru rolled her eyes. "I'll go stop it." She ran down the hallway again.

Marcos glanced over at the door thoughtfully. "It needs to be someone who won't come across as threatening so the rest of us can close in without him getting suspicious. If we all bust in at once, he'll panic and we'll lose him."

Madoka nodded, then looked apologetically at roughly half the group. Christina's fist was still curled. Ninel looked annoyed. Ryuga's arms were crossed again. Sophie wore a displeased expression. They weren't the only ones either. None of them could go in. Not when they were experiencing such obvious frustration.

"We should just call the police," Sophie suggested, exasperated. "They can deal with him."

"No," Zina disagreed. "He's here now, but there's no saying he won't leave the room, especially if he thinks something's up. We need to get him now while he's cornered. Besides, our phones don't even work."

Hikaru came back with a cheerful Masamune, King, Stella, Gin, and Kyoya in tow. Based on Kyoya's scowl, she'd obviously filled them in on the way over.

Just then, Nile and Aurora appeared, quietly making their way down the hall. They joined the group, and together all of them quickly hatched their plan.

Masamune, King, Aurora, and Nile would be sent into the exhibit to first alert Tetsuya to their presence. None of them were outwardly aggressive enough to appear to be dangerous to him- especially with Masamune and King's carefree attitudes- but if he got defensive, they could definitely subdue him. The bigger issue was the crabs, but Sophie and Mei Mei had found some mops and brooms in a nearby janitor's closet they could use to swat the crustaceans away. Shortly after the initial confrontation, the others would start to sneak in from both entrances to trap him. Ryuga and Kyoya would stay outside of one door while Bao and Marcos would guard the other. Both groups would serve as back up in the event Tetsuya was able to flee out the room.

Ninel, Dashan, Marcos, Lera, Bao, Christina, Stella, Sophie, Wales, Madoka, and Gingka started the plan off by walking around to the other door.

The rest of them waited where they were. Since their phones still weren't working, they tried to give their friends as much time as they could before sending the first group in. Once they felt the others had to be in position, they sent the first four inside.

Aurora was nervous, but she'd do anything to help her friends. She repositioned the tiara on top of her head, accepting Nile's hand as it slid into hers reassuringly.

Just like Ninel had said, Tetsuya was sitting on a big blue platform, with dozens of crabs on his lap and surrounding him. Masamune bounded in front of him. Tetsuya looked up, startled.

"Hey, Tetsuya!" Masamune chirped.

"Crabby, what are you doing here?" Tetsuya jumped up. Several crabs that had been crawling on him fell to the ground. "You weren't supposed to find me, no one was…"

"Well it was a pretty obvious place to hide!" King pointed out. "Besides, this place is cool!"

Ninel, Dashan, Zina, and Chris slowly opened their respective doors and began to creep inside. As the second line of defense, each of them held a broom or mop. Chao Xin and Wales followed, each of them with an empty 40-gallon bucket. The goal was to flip them upside down and trap some of the crabs to keep the number of them that actively posed a threat low. Others began to file in behind them, using displays to conceal themselves.

Aurora, Nile, Masamune, and King had Tetsuya cornered up against the back wall. His eyes were crazed, as though he wasn't really looking at them.

His right arm shot out. "Go my crabby friends! Get them! They ruined our dreams!" Tetsuya jumped down from the platform. He tried to run through them, but Masamune and Nile clotheslined him, throwing him to the ground.

The damage was done, though. The crabs had run towards them, preventing them from getting any closer to Tetsuya.

The others sprang into action. They charged, swatting the crabs. Hikaru tried sweeping a bunch of them out of the way to clear a path to where Tetsuya remained still disoriented on the floor. Mei Mei helped Chao Xin scoop up crabs into his bucket.

It was utter chaos, but it didn't last long. With so many of them teamed up against the crabs, the crabs didn't stand a chance. Ryuga, Kyoya, Marcos, and Bao had entered the room, all four standing in front of the doors.

Chris and Gingka both had string Sophie had unearthed in her search of the janitor's closet. As soon as they could, they got right up to Tetsuya. He struggled against them, but with added help from King and Masamune, they were able to keep him down and tie him up so he couldn't get away.

Once Tetsuya was restrained, the crabs seemed to retreat a bit, back towards the platform. A few stubborn ones were pushed back with brooms. A piece of fabric was gently wrapped around Tetsuya's mouth, not to hurt him, but to keep him from barking out further orders to his minions.

Christina found an odd piece of equipment that seemed out of place on the platform and picked it up. Almost immediately, she realized it was what Tetsuya had been using to jam the phone signals. She dropped it to the floor then smashed it with her foot. She then whipped out her phone and dialed the proper authorities so they could handle the mess.

The room started to die down in activity, everybody breathing heavy from the wild mania.

Tetsuya tried protesting, but couldn't get anything out past the gag covering his mouth. Tied up on the ground in his crab-themed tuxedo, he looked utterly ridiculous.

Sophie crouched down and knelt close to him, her eyes hard green shards of glass. She repeated his own words back at him, venom dripping from every syllable.

"This is for ruining our prom."


	15. Chapter 15

**I was realllly hoping to have this done earlier closer to when actual prom season would've been under normal circumstances, but I couldn't quite pull it off. But it's done! And I was wrong, this _isn't_ the longest chapter after all haha.**

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing :D I know we're not quite as active as we used to be, but this story still has 50 reviews! And special thanks to those of you who submitted your OCs. This story never could've happened without them, and I'm so glad I got to spend time working with each of these wonderful characters, even if at times it made me want to cry keeping track of everything. The fact that I actually finished a full length story in roughly a year is truly a testament to how engaging and fun it was writing this. Please let me know if you enjoy this chapter!**

**A quick shout-out to everyone who ever reviewed: thank you Cosmic Wish, rokebuto, SailorCandy, GinMado, skycold, Guest, Guest, Guest, ai, Guest, CookieSnookie, KacchakoRyuKaru, and Nightlingale! And of course, thank you Cosmic Wish, rokebuto, SailorCandy, GinMado, Nightlingale, and WildeChild17 for your OCs :)**

**I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.**

* * *

"High Hopes" by Panic! At the Disco blasted from the speakers, the bass loudly reverberating through the air. There was chaos as people shouted from the backyard, but this time it wasn't from fear. Finally, students were enjoying themselves.

The after party was in full swing. After Tetsuya had been captured, it was decided that things had gotten too out of control and the rest of prom would have to be canceled. It had been late enough that both the school and the venue felt the students had been able to enjoy most of prom so they didn't bother carrying out the rest of the event to completion. By their logic, it wasn't worth the effort to give the students the last half hour.

Besides, the planetarium was too much of a disaster to fix up quickly and the adults in charge had other things on their mind. Tetsuya had a lot of explaining to do.

Of course, because of the complications, that meant almost everyone who attended the prom was also at the after party, to make up for what they'd missed now that things had calmed down and they'd remembered how important tonight was expected to be. The classmate who was hosting clearly hadn't anticipated so many people, but they were making do. The house was packed.

The driveway and road was crammed with cars, despite the fact that a fair amount of people had been dropped off by limo drivers. Most people were outside, either pouring in from the street or already behind the house. With so many people, it was too hot to stay inside for any extended period of time.

Finding a spot where it was possible to move five feet in any direction without bumping into anyone was practically impossible, especially in the center of the yard and on the deck, the two areas where most of the outside lights were shining down. In those spots, it was a much tighter squeeze than in the planetarium back at the science center. The yard wasn't half as large as that room had been. Students in billowing dresses and ball gowns and tuxedos were simply everywhere. Abandoned heels were scattered all around as girls joyfully ran barefoot across the grass.

Thankfully, the house was set at the back of a cul-de-sac, and chances of having to deal with irritated neighbors in the late night hours seemed slim. Finally, they could all let loose and have some fun, and make some serious high school memories, just as they'd intended all along.

Aurora looked up at the stars, hiding herself against one of the many trees lining the backyard. Even though many people had come up to her and congratulated her on winning prom queen, she still felt like a bit of a wallflower. And she was fine with that, preferring to watch everyone else rather than be in the middle of it. The extra attention felt unnecessary.

Although, she was still wearing the crown and had no intention of taking it off any time soon. For that, maybe it was partially on her.

Nile came over to her, holding two drinks. He'd taken off his crown, but she didn't mind. Hers was prettier, not at all gaudy, and more practical than the one he'd worn. Hers completed her outfit. She could've come to prom wearing it and no one would've known the difference. His had, admittedly, made him look a bit tacky. They sat down on the soft grass and stared up at the stars, real ones this time. The corset back of her dress made it a little difficult as she sat perfectly straight, but she didn't mind. She'd gotten used to it earlier at dinner, and now being so close to Nile, a constricting dress was the last thing on her mind.

They played the same game they'd played at prom taking turns trying to point out constellations in the beautifully clear night sky, trying to figure out who knew more. He held her hand as she leaned back against her chosen tree, easing the strain on her back, and Aurora found herself wondering how the night had become so wonderfully magical.

"Aurora?" The questioning tone in his voice helped pull her gaze away from the mystical sky more easily. Normally, she wouldn't have been drawn away.

"Yeah?" she responded, shifting away from the tree to lean more into him, putting her head on his shoulder. It felt so natural, and for once the fluttering in her stomach was from butterflies rather than tangled up, anxious nerves.

He rested his head on top of hers and she thought her heart might explode it was pumping so hard from excitement. She closed her eyes to shield out everything, enjoying the feeling of him and nothing else.

"So we've been spending a lot of time together lately… and I'm really enjoying it. Especially tonight. I know things got kind of crazy, but I'm glad you were there with me."

Aurora opened her eyes. She felt so warm inside. "Me too, Nile. Tonight's been, well interesting, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm having fun with you, too."

"Cool." He lifted his head off hers and she moved so she could look into his emerald green eyes more clearly. "I was thinking, we should hang out again. Soon. Do you think…?"

Aurora smiled, a big one that lit up her whole face. "Absolutely. I want to see you more."

"Maybe we could grab dinner sometime? We could do something other than talk about English class for a change." His eyes glinted mischievously as he spoke. He wasn't saying the words outright, but she knew exactly what he meant and her heart soared.

It was strange, how'd they been brought together over the course of the last few weeks, when they'd almost never spoken to each other before. Now, the events of the night would be a memory they would always share.

Aurora wouldn't have it any other way.

Her gentle violet eyes gazed into his, shining with hope. She dared to say the words herself, taking the leap. "It's a date."

* * *

The table didn't have much of a spread when it came to food, but considering the party was run by high schoolers, it didn't come as much of a surprise. Hikaru spooned some dip onto a plate and poured some chips out. Some food was better than none.

Her friends were busy with their dates. Sophie and Wales were being cute on the deck, Madoka was chasing after Gingka for who knew what reason, and Mei Mei was with Chao Xin. Hikaru hoped that meant something for them, but so far Mei Mei hadn't said much about what happened between her and Chao Xin in the science center.

For the moment, though, that left Hikaru on her own, standing awkwardly in a poofy prom dress and heels with chips in her hand. She didn't mind being alone, but it would've been nice to have someone to talk to. Even her newer friends seemed to have disappeared. She couldn't find any of them in the crowd of people, which was frustrating considering how many of them had outfits that really stood out.

She resigned herself to standing over on the corner of the deck, eating her snack.

"Having fun?"

The gravelly voice snapped her to attention immediately.

She raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" she asked Ryuga. "I didn't take you for much of a party person."

He shrugged. "I'm not. But I could say the same for you."

She opened her mouth to argue out of instinct, but thought better of it when she saw the classic red solo cup in his hand. "What's that?"

He smirked. "You sure you want to know?"

Hikaru looked up at him from under her eyelids. "You think it'll scare me?"

He offered her the cup. "Go for it."

Hikaru took it, holding it in both hands. "You know, I'm pretty sure they say it's not a good idea to take drinks from strange guys," she teased. She took a sip, and nearly it right out, but forced herself to swallow as not to give him any bait to taunt her with. "Ugh! What is that?"

Ryuga smirked again. "Just a Dark 'n' Stormy. What, you can't handle it?"

Hikaru made a sour face. "How much rum did you put in that?" She couldn't get the strong taste out of her mouth.

"I didn't put anything in it. The guy who lives here is making a bunch of them, they're inside on the kitchen counter. I think his older brother got it for him. Or he's stealing from his parents' liquor cabinet."

"Did he have anything else?" Hikaru asked curiously. Avril Lavigne's "Here's to Never Growing Up" cut in on the loudspeakers, a vast change from whatever techno beat had just been playing.

"Not that I saw. But he had a couple of these ready you could probably go take."

"Nah, I'm good." She saw her chance and took his drink back, taking a long sip this time as she ignored the burning sensation going down her throat. "I can just drink yours."

He took the drink back. "And what makes you think that?" This time he took a sip, challenging her.

Hikaru snatched it back, enjoying the game. "Well, you haven't stopped me yet," she replied flirtatiously. "Maybe you should be the one to go back to the kitchen for another."

Ryuga pulled the drink away. "Maybe," he murmured and tipped the entire cup back, draining it. Hikaru smirked.

Maybe she'd regret it in the morning, or considering it was technically already morning, maybe when she woke up, but right now, this was way too much fun and exactly where she wanted to be.

* * *

"Still holding up?" Chris's blond hair flopped in his face adorably as he danced in time with the music.

"One hundred percent," Zina responded with a cheerful grin despite her fatigued body screaming at her.

Zina and Chris were in the middle of yet another one of their competitions, in the midst of the shifting crowd, only this time it was to see who could dance longer. Fortunately, they weren't the only ones so they didn't stick out too much. At least fifty people had to be dancing alongside them, minimum.

It'd started off innocent enough, with Chris asking if Zina was getting tired. She'd shaken her head, but it wasn't entirely the truth, although she wasn't ready to call it a night yet either. Then, her competitive nature had taken over entirely and she'd told Chris she could keep going all night, no problem. Instead, she turned the tables on him, acting like _he_ was the one about to pass out any minute. Of course, Chris wasn't one to back down from a challenge, so here they were putting it all out in the middle of the yard.

Zina yawned, trying to hide it to no avail.

Chris laughed. "You sure you aren't tired?

"You wish," Zina rolled her eyes. "This win is mine."

"Is it?"

Zina spun into Chris and he caught her, holding her close for a moment before spinning her out again. Zina sighed. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep going.

Not that she planned on admitting that to Chris anytime soon. He had to be close to exhausted by now, too. It wasn't like they'd had the easiest night.

"Woah!" Another dancer bumped into Zina, and in her half-delirious, half-sleepy state, she went flying, bumping right into Chris and down on the grass they went.

They laughed, staying in a collapsed heap on the ground.

"I guess this means I win," Chris's hair covered his right eye, but Zina could still see the smile in his left.

"The way I see it, you hit the ground first. By that logic, I win," Zina retorted.

She tried to get up, but Chris pulled her back down in close for a hug. A second later, she rolled over off top of him and sat up on the grass. Chris pulled her back in close as he resituated himself. She leaned in for a kiss, enjoying his close proximity.

"What do you say we call it a tie," Zina whispered.

"Hmm," Chris said thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure I still won. After all, you did knock me over."

"I disagree," Zina kissed him again. "You've got it all wrong."

"Fine," Chris made a big show of taking a long breath out. "Just this once, it's a tie. But just know, I won't hold back next time," he joked.

Zina looked deep into his purple eyes. "You know, that overconfidence is definitely gonna come back to bite you some day," she smiled. "But you'd better give it your all. I wouldn't expect anything less."

* * *

Kyoya leaned back against one of the trees situated at the back of the property, just about as far away as possible from the party without committing to actually going into the woods, looking deep into Gin's dark brown eyes with his contrasting pale icy blue ones as he held both her hands.

It was a minute she wished could truly last forever. There had been a couple more quick kisses after the first one up in the observatory when the opportunity presented itself between now and then, but something about this, the two of them standing alone in the cool spring air under the light of the moon and stars was pure magic.

Even if there were about two hundred shouting teenagers a mere five hundred feet away, if that, concentrated around the bright lights coming from the house. Somehow even with the noise breaking through the silent din of night around them, it was easy to ignore them.

With Kyoya by her side, it was easy to ignore the entire world, feeling as though it was just the two of them and nothing else mattered. Gin slid her hands up around his neck.

She never could've imagined this happening a few short months ago. If nothing else, she was grateful fate had brought her to the right place at the right time. This was exactly where she needed to be.

He kissed her, and she wanted to melt against his lips, and maybe stay there forever, too.

Once they inevitably broke it, Gin moved closer to hug him, loving the feeling of being so close. She felt like if he weren't there to keep her tied to the ground, she just might blissfully float away.

"So I definitely want to be with you," Kyoya murmured, whispering right into her ear.

"I want to be with you, too," Gin responded, feeling breathless.

"I don't want to rush things, though. I really like you, Gin." She would've sworn there was a slight blush on the prideful green-haired boy's cheeks, but it was too dark to be sure.

She didn't know if she'd ever expected to really hear those words, even if they were a constant part of her daydreams. Of course since he'd shown up at the prom and the first time he'd kissed her she'd known he'd liked her, but it was completely different hearing him say it. He felt exactly the same as she did.

She'd do whatever she had to to keep it that way.

"Then let's just take it slow," Gin suggested quietly. "Just see where this goes, no rushing. Just us."

He gave her an easy grin. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

He leaned in to kiss her again, longer this time as they sealed their new promise.

* * *

"Is that Hikaru?" Mei Mei murmured from where she sat in the dewy grass curled up next to Chao Xin. There were still a few feet between them, like neither of them was really sure how to be around the other. Their fingers had brushed a few times and his had definitely lingered over hers, but Mei Mei didn't know what to think of that. Roughly fifty feet away, a girl in a white dress playfully pushed a boy in a black tux, giggling loudly the entire time.

"I think she's been drinking," Chao Xin whispered in her ear.

Mei Mei shook her head. "Oh, Hikaru. Do you think we should go take care of her?"

Chao Xin shook his head and his hand grazed hers again. "Not yet. Maybe if she gets worse, but it looks like she's having fun for now. If you see her with a cup, we should probably go take it."

Her heart thumped at Chao Xin's touch. Mei Mei nodded, but kept a close watch on her friend, minding her from her peripheral vision. Once she was certain Hikaru was okay, she felt comfortable enough to turn her attention back to him. His hair was messy, likely the result of all the running around from earlier.

It was so strange how they'd gotten to this point, Mei Mei reflected. After the incident in the science center, she and Chao Xin hadn't spent more than thirty seconds apart, practically glued together at the hip. Prior to that, outside of dinner and dessert she hadn't even seen him much outside of the limo once they got to prom.

She was starting to get a pretty good idea of what it meant though even if they hadn't spent much of that time talking. He just ended up following her wherever she went, and Mei Mei found herself doing the same without much thought. Being near him just felt natural. He was magnetic, and she was just drawn to him, cliché as it sounded.

For now, she just rested her head on his shoulder, watching the rest of her classmates rush around the yard. He stiffened from her motion, then relaxed as if he'd simply been surprised by the act. Mei Mei figured if he though it was weird- or if she was reading his signals wrong, though she doubted that- she could just blame it on being tired. It was past one in the morning and she _was_ exhausted, unable to figure out how the others still had so much energy.

He didn't say anything and she didn't feel the need to either. The last few weeks had been a whirlwind for both of them. Mei Mei was glad she'd stuck around, even when things had been hard for a while.

Because now, it looked like it all might just be worth it.

* * *

Stella and King giggled as they ran towards the front of the house hand in hand, into the packed driveway and hid behind several cars. They could hear "That's What You Get" by Paramore playing in the distance.

"Do you think he's still behind us?" Stella whisper-giggled. She ducked behind a large van and sat down. Earlier, against her better judgment, she, King, and Masamune had done a shot together, and it was making her head a bit fuzzy.

"Guys!" Masamune's voice cut through the night air, with a slight whine to it. "Where'd you go?"

"Shhh!" King exaggerated the word and dragged it out, making a big show of covering Stella's mouth with his hand to stifle her hysterical laughter. "He'll hear us!"

They heard a shuffle of footsteps on the pavement, but it started growing faint. Masamune must've been headed back toward the party.

They exploded into laughter.

"We'll go back to him in a minute," King said, not wanting to leave his best friend for long.

"Fine by me," Stella said, then suddenly hiccupped. "Oh, crap!" She laughed again, but it was interrupted by another hiccup.

King smiled. "You know, that's pretty cute."

Stella frowned. "What, my hiccups?"

"Yeah. It's funny, but it's cute."

Stella stuck out her tongue. "If you say so." She hiccupped again and groaned. "How do I stop these things?"

King smiled deviously. "I could try to scare you and see if that works."

"No!" Stella whisper-shouted. She folded her arms across her chest. "Absolutely not."

King shrugged. "Well, then I'm out of options."

Stella tried to ignore the hiccups. "Well since we're alone- hic- now, I suggest we make the most- hic- of it. Ugh!"

"What did you have in mind?"

Stella scooted closer and hoped her hiccups could give her a brief break. If they did for this one second, she be fine suffering through them for the rest of the night.

Figuring it was the one chance she'd get all night with this brief privacy, Stella kissed King, closing her eyes and hoping this wasn't just a prom thing. She really hoped they could be more and needed to prove that to him. He'd told her how he felt, but she had to take this moment to show him, too.

His hand covered hers on the pavement. It wasn't a long kiss, but Stella hoped it told him everything he needed to know. When she looked into his eyes a moment later as she opened her own, she knew his expression mirrored her own.

They both stood up, still holding hands. She couldn't believe she'd finally gotten the chance to kiss him, especially after things had gone so off the rails.

"We should get back to Masamune," King said softly, breaking the silence but never their gaze. "He's probably still wondering where we are."

He had a point. Even if King and Stella were something more now, it was wrong on so many levels to start excluding Masamune from hanging out with them just because of that. The three of them were friends and nothing was about to change that. Stella nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Ninel had changed into a sleeved, blush pink jumpsuit with fairly wide pant legs and a v-shaped neckline. While she'd swapped out most of her accessories for silver chandelier earrings and a pink and silver statement necklace, she still wore the same silver dress sandals she'd worn to the dance. As much as she'd loved her prom dress, it felt nice to have a little more range of motion. The sleeves were helpful too, as an early morning chill was setting in. Not to mention, she was also wearing Dashan's tuxedo jacket, and that was a delightful bonus in itself.

All things considered, the night really couldn't have gone any better. They'd taken down Tetsuya and still managed to have a good time in the end and enjoy most of their time at the dance before the interruption. Of course, she'd had Dashan by her side the entire time, too, and that was a major plus.

Especially since he'd made it clear this wasn't going to be a prom only deal. He'd been pretty straight forward about that from the start, but still. Every time he kissed her, Ninel's heart felt like it was on fire and she couldn't get used to the wonderful feeling.

She couldn't wait for their next date, already planned for next weekend. In between school and swim practice, they'd still meet for their study sessions during the week, and suddenly those felt more exciting than ever.

Having Dashan as her boyfriend really was everything she could've asked for and more.

Even in her heels Dashan still had a good few inches on her and Ninel had to stand up on her toes to kiss him. When she opened her eyes, she saw his green ones right there and Ninel found herself wondering how they could be so beautiful and deep and expressive. He pulled her in close for a hug.

"This has been perfect," she murmured, pressed against his shoulder.

The two of them stood against the wood siding of the house, half hidden by darkness even though light poured from the small floodlights perched above them. Most of their classmates were in the middle of that light, and Ninel was happy to be away from the action. She'd had enough excitement for one night.

Some quiet, quality time with her new boyfriend was all she needed to round out the night.

A few tendrils of hair had slipped out of her sophisticated bun updo, blowing around her face in the soft breeze. Dashan reached out and tucked them behind her ear.

Feeling almost unnerved by his incredibly intense gaze, Ninel shifted so she could lean into his side, Dashan's arms instantly around her shoulder. She sighed contentedly.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Oh, you know. Swimming. The usual," Ninel responded playfully.

Dashan smirked.

"What's so funny?" Ninel asked.

"You. You're never that relaxed when swimming's involved. What are you really thinking about?"

Ninel shook her head, smiling. He knew her too well. She stood up on her toes to kiss him gently. "Fine, you caught me. I was thinking about you."

Dashan kissed her on the forehead. "Good. Because I'm thinking about you."

* * *

Christina and Bao were inside, curled up next to each other on the couch. Miraculously, the living room was empty other than them.

Christina decided to chalk it up to nice weather and leftover energy to burn and was grateful for whatever ultimately was keeping her classmates outside.

Sure, a couple of them kept sneaking back into the house to refill their cups with whatever alcohol had made its way to the party, but at least the kitchen wasn't connected to the living room.

Bao kissed her as she held his hand tight. They'd been together for six months now, and she didn't think she would ever get used to it. Her heart still fluttered every time she saw him, and tonight had definitely been no exception.

Christina ran her hand through his hair and rested her head on his shoulder. She was tired from running around all day, but falling asleep was the last thing on her mind.

"You have to drive home," Bao reminded her, a teasing lilt in his voice.

"Don't remind me," Christina groaned good-naturedly. "I hope Chris and Zina are ready to go soon."

Her Camaro had been perfect for prom and she didn't regret taking it, although driving was just about the farthest thing from her mind at the moment.

She'd cross that bridge when she came to it. With all the other drinks in the kitchen, Christina wouldn't have been surprised to find energy drinks there. If not, well it really wasn't that long of a drive home anyway.

Another excited scream echoed through the window from outside, piercing the otherwise quiet night. Considering the noise, she was mildly surprised no cops had shown up to bust the party yet despite the house's nearly isolated location.

Christina lifted her head up and scooted closer to Bao to kiss him again before leaning against him and enjoying the all too brief silence that followed before another loud squeal cut into it.

Bao murmured something, but was so quiet she couldn't make out what he was saying. Christina tilted her head, "What was that?"

"I love you."

His voice was still so soft, but this time she heard them, and the three words definitely caught her off guard. When she shifted to look at him, he was looking at her so earnestly with his golden brown eyes, still holding her hand tight.

She could hardly believe it and almost wondered if lack of sleep was making her delusional. In the six months they'd been dating, and even longer since she'd first realized she liked him, she always known he was special to her and even though they were very open with communication in their relationship, she'd wondered if he was being careful, keeping part of himself guarded at all times. She didn't take it personally; that was just how he was. Knowing the general unsteady and unreliable nature of high school relationships, Christina found she couldn't entirely blame him either.

And now he was looking at her, completely vulnerable and finally out in the open about it. She'd known for a while now how she'd felt, but she'd kept quiet, letting things play out and not wanting to push things too fast before they were ready for them. That was a surefire way for things to burn out of control.

But now that he was being honest, she felt no reason to hide her truth anymore. Now it was time for _her_ to be honest.

"I love you, too."

* * *

Marcos snorted as he watched the absurd scene play out in front of him. It was _so _high school. Students ran about the lawn in long dramatic dresses and tuxedos with red solo cups filled with illicit alcohol obtained from who knew where shrieking and shrieking; he wouldn't have expected anything less from an after prom party.

And yet, part of him was glad to be there, observing the predictability of it all. As much as he liked a challenge- and prom had most certainly provided one- it was nice to have descended back into a stereotypical calm.

Well, calm outside of Lera sitting in the chair next to him. He was watching the crowd, but he was also pretty sure she was watching him.

Not to mention, she'd taken hold of his hand roughly five minutes ago when they'd first sat down, but Marcos had no desire to let go of her and was confident she felt the same. It'd been a bit of a production figuring out how they would get to the after party, but fortunately, Aleksei and Nowaguma had offered to drive them, and Alexsei's van was big enough to fit both of their bikes in its open back trunk. Nowaguma and Aleksei had since disappeared once they'd arrived, but Lera had stuck by his side the way she had all night.

"Tonight was perfect," Lera sighed, looking up at the stars.

Marcos followed her gaze, subconsciously picking out the constellations above. "Really? Even with a deranged crab-maniac on the loose?"

Lera giggled. "Even with that. And with riding my bike to prom, which up until about eight hours ago, quite honestly had never crossed my mind."

"Lera, you have the strangest idea of perfect I've ever heard," Marcos admitted.

"Perfect doesn't have to be neatly arranged with everything ordered in a row, you know. True perfection isn't even real; perfection is this crazy, wild reality we live in that makes you appreciate when things get completely out of your control. And appreciate them even moreso once they're back in your control." Marcos could hear light teasing in her voice and he smiled.

He let the silence grow in between them again for a moment, just enjoying her company and having her hand tightly wrapped in his.

If he were being honest, he probably could have stayed there for hours, even with screeching teenagers in the background. In the quiet of the night, lost in his own thoughts, he could barely even hear the noise.

"I want to see you again," Lera whispered. Her eyes were so blue as she seemed to look right through him. Marcos wondered what she saw.

No one had ever touched him so deeply the way she had. Everyone else was just another character in the game, blending into shades of gray. Lera was so many colorful hues he couldn't even count them, standing out against a dull background.

She was enamoring.

"Then you will," he nodded softly.

Lera leaned close to him, so close to his face and gently kissed him on the cheek.

For once, the calculating teen wasn't quite sure what it meant for the two of them, but it was absolutely the start of something that had been a long time coming.

* * *

"I don't know how you do it," Sophie said, an amused cadence filling her tone as a gasping Madoka sat down on the steps next to her wheezing for air.

"Do what?"

Sophie nodded over to where Gingka was currently chasing Masamune over some new trivial matter. "Keep up with that boy."

"I don't know how either," Madoka admitted, reaching for her water bottle. She took a long gulp. "But I'm more than happy to do so."

Sophie smiled, knowing her best friend was more than telling the truth. "Well, I guess I can't fault you there."

Madoka shook her head. "Guess not. Whew," she breathed, then stood up. "I should probably go stop him before he breaks something." With a light laugh, Madoka was off again, tearing after her runaway boyfriend.

Sophie watched as she chased him. Madoka laughed exuberantly, reaching out to grab Gingka's shoulder. It was a wonder she didn't topple over as she ran in her tight mermaid dress.

She nearly did then, and Gingka spun around just in time to catch her before she fell. Masamune was still running, using the distraction to escape Gingka.

Gingka tipped Madoka back, and she swooned as he kissed her, her back arched. The fragile, easy wind breezed through her glossed hair.

She stood up straight, quickly regaining her balance and pulling him in close for another kiss, cupping his face with her hands.

Masamune forgotten, the two of them stood under the lights where everyone could see, though they shut everything else out. Not that it really mattered; the party was definitely beginning to slow down. Few people really noticed them.

They broke apart, but it wasn't long before both of them were leaning in for another kiss.

Sophie was more than content to stay on the stairs watching everything play out, movement all around her. She looked away from Madoka and Gingka, now that the manic fun had ended and they were lost in each other. There were other displays happening all around her, in every direction. She'd had her fair share of action for the night, and now just wanted to see everyone else live out their fairytales.

Almost everyone had started to sequester themselves in secluded areas around the yard. The big dance party in the center had started to break up, and most people were either sitting on the grass or starting to head for home.

Disturbed's "Hold On to Memories" floated out from over the loudspeakers.

Wales came down and sat next to her one step above. He'd been close by for most of the night, but he'd gone off to hang out with Julian for a bit a little while ago while Sophie had been checking in on a few others.

"So what do you think?" Wales asked. "Was tonight everything you dreamed of?"

Wales was everything she dreamed of, but that wasn't what he was asking. She glanced up at him, drawn in by his beautiful face and mulled over the night, from getting out of school early to get ready to gathering in a group for photos at the Gardens and the limo ride, and then finally the chaotic main event.

She could only control so much no matter how much she planned, and she'd done what she could. After what Tetsuya had pulled, such a foolish stunt, taking him down had been its own reward. When it came down to it, he hadn't really ruined prom like he'd sought so hard to do. In the end, even with the mishaps, she still felt like she was living a fantasy.

Was it what she'd hoped for all along? Maybe not. But it was still prom night, and everything about it was memorable. That was really all she could ask for.

And of course, the man of her dreams had been beside her through it all.

Sophie paused and chose her words carefully. "Tonight was… definitely something special." She smiled.

"You can say that again. Not too upset about not being prom queen, are you?" Wales teased gently.

Sophie shook her head, throwing it back and giggled. "Hardly. It's not losing if your best friend takes the crown."

In the dimly lit night with soft music and joyful laughter and shouts filling the air around them, Wales leaned down to kiss her lips.

"You'll always be queen to me."

* * *

**Thank you all for reading! I hope you've enjoyed this version of an MFB prom fic, but now _Dreams Under the Stars_ has officially come to a close. It's crazy to think it's finished, for once I don't even feel like I'm done, but you'll definitely be hearing more from me. I've learned a lot in writing this, and I'm hoping to put that knowledge to work (like maybe not try to write 11 pairings in one story again lol). My current projects are _To The Top_, and if you're looking for something without OCs, then check out _Starlight Academy_. If you're looking for something already finished, I definitely recommend _A Summer to Remember_\- it's one of my more polished earlier stories, and it's timely for the season! See you all soon!**

**~GhostFairy**


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